Ivan Morales

Mariana Gaviria Needs A LIVING Kidney DONOR

Mariana is a Fighter. A transplant would allow to stop fighting and start living.

Mariana and I met at the University of Miami in 2013 as freshman. She was a Gates Millenium Scholar which is one of the most competitive scholarships around. We didn’t talk much but we had a some of the same friends. Then all of a sudden she disappeared after our freshman year and I didn’t know why. It turns out she was having a kidney transplant. I had no idea that she had any medical issues and that’s a testament to her positive attitude and strength during these trials. No one knew except her family and close friends. Then she returns to school at the beginning of 2015 looking good as new like nothing had happened. Little did we know, she had gone through a kidney transplant, an undiagnosed morphine allergy, and a bout of the flu. You would never know it looking at her. She came to school excited to be back and ready kick some ass. And she did. She was tapped into ODK honor society, she made dean’s list multiple times, she graduated cum laude with a degree in international relations. She would graduate on time and ready for graduate school where she was deemed a top prospect and received a scholarship to attend the school of Public affairs at American University in Washington DC.

Mariana and I did a bit of a dance between 2015 and 2016 until we began dating in April 2016. I would go to Washington DC to attend law school at American University and we moved in together. That is where I got to see what she was really going through.

During her time at American University, she suffered some setbacks again. During her last year, she had to undergo plasmapheresis at Johns Hopkins Hospital multiple times per week. This required her driving one hour each way. She had to inject medication at home as well. And it took a mental and physical toll on her. I would help where I could but it was really up to her to fight through it. And she did. Her classmates and professors were kind enough to record her classes for her and she was able to complete that semester of studies from home and in person. She was also a teaching assistant during this time. She graduated cum laude with a masters degree in terrorism and homeland security policy in 2019. We both returned to Miami after graduate school and that’s when the pandemic hit. It was a tough time but it was also when we got engaged. We got engaged on July 17, 2021 and will be getting married on February 4, 2022.

Mariana is a caring and fun-loving person. She is very family oriented and loves nothing more than spending time with her family. Most of her extending family is in Colombia and the pandemic and her condition have made it impossible for her to go visit them for a few years.

She enjoys watching movies, going to a park, swimming, just being outside. The pandemic and her condition have made all of that more difficult. She says the beach is her happy place and you can see it on her face. A trip to the beach calms her down immediately. So naturally, we got engaged on a beach.

I most admire Mariana’s perseverance and ability to always maintain a smile. When Mariana was going through all of her trials, the only people who knew were her closest friends and her family. You wouldn’t know it unless she told you or you actually saw her going through her treatment. Her hardest times in her life have been her most successful. She has been going through these trials throughout her college and graduate studies and what did she do: she was awarded a Gates Millenium Scholarship, she graduated from the University of Miami cum laude with a degree in international relations, she got a scholarship to one of the top programs in her field as a top prospect, and she graduated cum laude with a degree in terrorism and homeland security policy. She is a fighter.

Kidney failure has affected Mariana’s life immensely. She had to basically take a semester off from college in 2014 to get her transplant, deal with the complications, and get back up and running.

Kidney failure is currently making it very difficult for her to go outside and do the things she enjoys during the pandemic.

It isn’t possible for her to fly to Colombia to visit her extended family during a pandemic.

It has made it very difficult for her to continue to do her job.

Kidney failure does not affect one thing, it affects every thing.

Ever since I have known Mariana, she has always been against making future plans. By future plans I mean anything more than about 2-3 months in advance. She just doesn’t know how her kidney will be doing in 3 months. She doesn’t know how she’ll be doing in 3 months. She takes everything a day at a time.

She has missed out on some things but she has made a conscious effort not to miss things. If she can do it, she’s going to. If there’s some event and she thinks she can do it, she’s going. Mariana takes advantage of the opportunities she has now because she’s not sure if she’ll be ok tomorrow.

A transplant would mean the world to Mariana.

It would mean peace of mind. You cannot put a price on peace of mind. Peace or mind that you will be feeling well when you wake up. Peace of mind that you don’t have to say no to that vacation or that event or that trip to see your family. Peace of mind that you can go on your honeymoon.

You cannot put a price on peace of mind.

How do you thank someone for giving you a part of their body and saving your life. You can’t. You can just live your life to the fullest and show them what their sacrifice has allowed you to do.

I am helping Mariana find a living donor. We are testing family and friends and looking for anyone who would be willing and able to donate. Please share Mariana’s so we can reach as many people as possible.

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