Karina's Road to Recovery

Thanks to Karina Fuentes for sharing her story with us! Karina is running the 2026 Chicago Marathon with Team Kidney! Cheer her on here.

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My kidney journey started in 2003 when I was 23 years old. I was diagnosed with kidney failure and six months later I was on dialysis. I was at a loss for what to do, I was young, and the information was a lot to take in. In 2007, I received my first transplant. Unfortunately, just two days after surgery, my transplant rejected. Having to go back on dialysis left me frustrated and depressed. Then, in 2009 I received my second transplant from a deceased donor. After some complications and a short stint back in the hospital, the transplant was a success!

Unfortunately, in 2019 I got the news that my kidney started to reject, and I was going to have to go back on dialysis unless I could find a donor. My sister got tested to see if she would be a match but unfortunately did not meet all the requirements to donate. Thankfully, my fiancé Ryan was tested and although he was not a direct match for me, we were able to go through the swap program.  On April 7, 2021 he donated his kidney to someone, and I was able to receive my third kidney transplant the same day.

Karina Fuentes and her fiance/third kidney donor Ryan Adams

It was a great outcome! With my new kidney, I started feeling like myself again.  My transplants have allowed me to spend more time with my daughter and family and have allowed me to do the things I love like working out, running, and Jiu-jitsu.

In 2022, I joined a running group and running has kept me motivated every single day. If there’s a day that my body is telling me to relax, I listen by staying home and relaxing. I’ve completed lots of races and my running friends helped support me and are always cheering me on.

Karina and Ryan in a race

In 2023 I started suffering from headaches constantly. I couldn’t figure out why since it wasn’t a migraine. We were in and out of the doctor’s office with no answers.

One day I woke up and I wasn’t able to function at all. Ryan had to physically help me to get in the car and we drove right to the emergency room. An emergency MRI showed I had a brain tumor, and it was cancer. I spent the next couple of days in the ICU. While waiting for my emergency surgery, I thought about the risks, brain damage, and memory loss. I was right back in a nightmare. Thankfully, my surgery was successful. I was able to walk and talk. However, after Ryan went home to get some sleep that night, I called him and said, “Ryan, where are you? Why am I at the hospital? What happened to me? Where are you?” My doctor said I was having what they call a brain seizure. Luckily it only happened one time. After that, I had hard time finding the words to speak. I had to go through speech therapy and still to this day, I have a hard time finding the exact word I am looking for in a conversation. While I was in recovery, they had to stop some of my medications that prevent my kidney from rejecting. My body began to reject the third kidney. I was so discouraging, after all we have been through. Am I going to need another kidney? Thankfully, after another years in and out of the hospital, they were able to stabilize the kidney.

Karina and Ryan after a race

I stay positive and I want to live and be here for my girls, Ryan, family and friends. Struggles still come and go but it will always be a part of our lives. There is nothing we cannot get over together.

I cherish each and every day. We set goals and we commit. We eat and live healthy lifestyles and it rubs off on our kids, friends and family around us. I go to the gym every morning and run almost every day and it keeps me strong - mentally and physically. Why? BECAUSE I WILL NEVER GIVE UP and for others that are going through health issues: when you feel like you can’t keep going, that’s exactly when you shouldn’t stop. We have made it through every hard day so far. You can get through this one too. It didn’t come this far just to stop here. Take it one step at a time.