Find out more about this week’s Riley kid – Isabella Cruz!
Isabella was born with ESRD due to renal dysplasia. While her mommy was pregnant with her, it appeared she did not have any kidneys at all and doctors said she would only live for a few minutes. She is a miracle baby and has beaten all odds. She made it until she was 4 years old without dialysis! She received a new kidney from her mommy on 6/2/13.
Not even 2 weeks after her operation, Isabella went home and was playing, running and having fun like nothing ever happened. And the best part is for the first time in her life, she has normal kidney function!
Riley saved Isabella from dialysis and ultimately saved her life. Her quality of life will be so much better now and she can develop and grow as a normal child would.
Isabella’s favorite color is purple, her favorite food is chocolate anything, she loves all shows on Disney Jr., and she loves cats and dogs. Most of the time she is acting like a kitty at home and even sometimes at school and church.
Isabella, who just turned 5, has a big brother, Connor, who she loves. He is 7 years old. Connor loves the color blue, loves sports including basketball, football, baseball, and he loves Purdue.
Connor and Isabella were born in San Diego, CA. Their dad (Freddy) is from California and graduated from San Diego State. I am from Portage, IN and graduated from Purdue. After Isabella was born in 2009, it was very difficult being without family in San Diego to help with Bella’s medical needs so we decided to move back to my home state of Indiana. In anticipation of her kidney transplant, we chose Indianpolis (we live in Brownsburg) because of the excellent reputation of Riley and IU Health (their transplant program is one of the top in the nation). On June 12, 2013 I as able to donate my kidney to Isabella. It was a scary but miraculous day and she is now thriving! We love living back and Indiana and are so thankful we made the decisions to transfer her care to Riley.