LYNN, Mass. — A Massachusetts woman who needs a new kidney has put up a billboard in search of a donor.
"Young mother needs a kidney blood type O," reads the billboard put up by Miranda LeBrasseur.
The 42-year-old Lynn woman has been diabetic since she was 17, has high blood pressure and suffers from a genetic kidney disease.
LeBrasseur says she has been on the transplant list since June 2016 and receives dialysis three times a week.
The wife and mother took the larger-than-life approach to get the public's attention and says it's all about being there to see her daughters grow up.
"It's big, it's bold, it's bright. Everyone's going to see it," said LeBrasseur.
She says she knows the toll her illness can take on her 14- and 11-year-old daughters because LeBrasseur lost her own mother around the same age.
"She doesn't get to do much because whenever she has dialysis she feels worn out of the rest of the day and we can't really go on many trips to places," said daughter Emily.
LeBrasseur has been forced to stop working, but her children and husband have stayed right by her side. For now, the family says staying positive is the best medicine until they can gin a match.
"I could crawl up in a ball and cry about it or I can stand up and show the kids sometimes tough things happen but you face it with integrity and you face it with love," said Jeff LeBrasseur.
The family raised nearly $2,000 to be able to get the billboard up, which will only be up until April 28, but LeBrasseur says her website and fundraising won't stop until she finds a match. So far, she's heard from five interested donors and two are being tested as possible matches.
Email kidneys4me@yahoo.com if you are interested in helping.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
