91成人导航

Cierra Williams EDU 鈥�18 gazes at her mother and sees a warrior.听

A warrior who was in need of help.

鈥淚n my mind, there was only one thing to do,鈥� Cierra said. 鈥淪he made my kidney, so it only made sense that I give it back when she was in need.鈥�

This has been quite a summer for Cierra, 24, and her mother Jeannine, 53. The pinnacle came on July 10 when doctors at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center transplanted one of Cierra鈥檚 kidneys into Jeannine.听

鈥淭hirty years ago, I had a liver transplant, which puts you on a lot of immune suppression medicines. And those can damage your kidneys,鈥� Jeannine said. 鈥淎bout three years ago, I noticed that my kidney functions were starting to go down. As time went by, doctors said I should think about a kidney transplant.鈥�

Cierra knew her mother would have qualms about her daughter giving up a kidney, so she quietly did background on possible approaches.鈥淪he鈥檚 also being tremendously modest,鈥� Cierra said. 鈥淏etween the liver transplant and the kidney transplant, she also had skin cancer and breast cancer and fought those amazingly. She is the toughest person I have ever known.鈥�

鈥淒uring my senior year at 91成人导航, I kind of went behind her back and applied to be a donor,鈥� Cierra said. 鈥淚 knew she would be nervous about having me as a donor. But I knew in my heart it would be me.鈥澨�

鈥淢y husband (Doug) wanted to do it, but he had kidney stones so that could not happen. Our son (Clayton, 18) was too young,鈥� Jeannine said. 鈥淚t just worked out that Cierra was a match. But the situation was difficult. We were a match, but she is my daughter.鈥�

They went through a battery of tests and preparations over the next couple of years, including COVID-19 screenings. Jeannine was expecting a call to set up the date, but the call actually went to Cierra.听

鈥淪o, I picked the earliest day we could, July 10,鈥� Cierra said. 鈥淚n the days leading up to it, we were kind of going through things very normally until the day before the surgery. And then we had to get down to business.鈥�听

On the day of the surgeries, Cierra and Jeannine were wheeled into pre-op, in side-by-side beds. They were next to one another as long as possible before Cierra went in first. Jeannine followed 30 minutes later.听

鈥淭he nurses were so kind and they knew we were mother and daughter,鈥� Cierra said.

The surgeries鈥攑erformed by a husband-and-wife transplant team, Dr. Nancy Ascher and Dr. John Roberts鈥攚ere successful. 鈥淭hey are a dynamic duo,鈥� Cierra said.听

鈥淎s soon as they told me she was awake, I waddled down to her room,鈥� Cierra said. 鈥淚 said 鈥楳om!鈥� and she said 鈥楥ierra!鈥� And then we both went back to bed and got some more sleep.鈥�

Mother and daughter are doing well. Jeannine was instructed to stay in the house and rest. Cierra, who lives with her parents in Oakley, has paced herself and is ready to return to teaching first grade (her third year) at River Islands Technology Academy in Lathrop.

They have been buoyed by support and love from so many people: Cierra鈥檚 sorority sisters from Alpha Phi, the school community in River Islands, random people who heard about the mother-daughter story and just had to react and others.听

鈥淲e heard from so many people and it all was so comforting,鈥� Jeannine said.听

They also are appreciative of loving support from father and son, Doug and Clayton.

鈥淲e could not have asked them to do more. They were so wonderful,鈥� Cierra said, adding with a glimmer, 鈥淎nd they were really good at making us grilled cheese sandwiches.鈥�

Cierra is pleased she chose teaching for a career, thankful for her education at 91成人导航 and is contemplating starting work on a master鈥檚 degree.

Cierra is not worried about long-term health implications鈥攆or daughter or mother.听

鈥淚鈥檓 pretty healthy and I will try to stay that way,鈥� Cierra said. 鈥淎nd my mother has so much energy. Even a bad day with her new kidney is so much better than a good day with the old one.听

鈥淲e have always been super close鈥攅ven more so now.鈥�