Diana Zippay, 37, lives in the Pittsburgh area and has a rare, genetic kidney disease called Alport's syndrome. She has spent most of her time on a machine – for years. Her whole family is now on the frontlines with her, trying to save their mom. Doctors had reportedly only given Diana months to live, unless a new kidney can be sourced from someone outside her own family.
In a Facebook post, Zippay stresses how urgent her need is, as she has reportedly lost permanent dialysis access and is down to using a temporary catheter, threaded through her heart.
She asks everyone to please share the video and its message, saying she will never give up the fight. In another post she explains she is on the kidney transplant list at Allegheny General Hospital.
Video on Facebook makes a plea for a new kidney for mom
As reported by Pittsburgh’s Action News 4, Diana’s children posted a video on Facebook in an attempt to save their mother’s life. If ever a video should go viral, it’s this one. Posted on Tuesday, the video shows Zippay’s two children holding up hand printed signs asking people to help them spread the word, saying their mommy needs a new kidney.
The signs show images of the whole family and the message that they need someone to be a living donor for their mother to save her life. They hand-printed the telephone number of Holly at the Allegheny General Hospital, in the hope that someone out there will give her a call to say they will help. The next sign says “God Bless You” and asks Facebook users to please share the video to give their mother hope. The two cute kids then blow kisses at their viewers.
The Facebook video showing the little boy and girl was posted to Diana Zippay's Facebook page 14 hours ago and has received 25,239 views at the time of writing.
Married to a machine for years due to Alport’s Syndrome
In an interview with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4, Diana tells Janelle Hall that she has been “married to a machine for years.
She explained that her grandmother had passed away from the same disorder and that her brother died when he was three-and-a-half. She also has a sister with Alport’s Syndrome. She said she has been trying to explain to her children that there is a chance she might not survive and they decided to join their mother in her fight for life with the online video on Facebook. They also want to raise awareness about kidney donation to everyone watching.
Now the whole family is hoping that the right person watches that video, giving Diana the chance to live, not just for months, but for many years to come. A video of the interview with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 is included below.