At seven years old, Macon woman Candice Stephens was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. In 2016, she found out she would need multiple organ transplants to save her life.
“Knowing that I was abnormal in a sense due to my diabetes, so my health started declining,” Stephens told local news outlet 11Alive.
In 2016, she found out that her kidney function was at 15% and needed help fast.
“Outside I looked amazing, but inside my organs were deteriorating they were declining,” Stephens said. “By the time that I found out that I was in need of transplants or some type of treatment I was in stage three chronic kidney disease.”
Stephens received a kidney transplant from her husband but ultimately ended up needing a pancreas transplant from a diseased donor, as well.
Now, Stephens is making it her mission to help others and started a nonprofit – ‘The Day After’ Foundation – to educate others about how to become an organ donor.
“I wanted to create a space for pre and post-transplant patients to come for support,” Stephens said. “I know that being on this journey, I realized that a lot of information was available to me, but I just didn’t know how to access it.”
According to Donate Life America, more than 100,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for transplants — nearly 17 people die daily while waiting for a transplant.
“I encourage those that are going through this journey – just don’t give up. That call can be any day, you just never know,” Stephens said.
Stephens is starting a website that she says is “A great starting point for someone that’s on the journey to transplantation just to find out more about what it is.”
Stephens says The Day After Foundation will have a website launch party on Saturday at Serenity Entertainment Complex on Poplar Street. It’s from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Watch the video below:
