Shiara’s Journey

August 1, 2020:

“Life is back to normal,” Shiara Veltman said. “I get to jump in the pool with no cares. I get to swim in the river with my friends. Taking medications is an easy compromise for having a life again.”

Shiara lived a healthy childhood until seventh grade, when she fell ill following a trip to Cedar Key, Florida, with friends. She was treated for bronchitis and prescribed antibiotics, but soon she became very swollen.

Initially, it was thought she was allergic to the medicine, but after further testing and hospitalization, she was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), both substantially impacting her kidneys.

Shiara’s diet was altered. She grew up eating canned food often – one of her favorites being ravioli – but she had to switch to healthier eating habits containing less sodium. When she was younger, she hated taking pills, but she learned to adjust. She had episodes of appearing swollen.

“Other kids at school didn’t understand why I was swollen, and they made fun of me a lot for it,” Shiara said.

When Shiara was 15, her doctor called on Halloween instructing her it was time to begin dialysis. She missed most of her sophomore year and half of her junior year of high school while awaiting a kidney transplant, but thanks to her teachers and her mother, she was able to keep up with her schoolwork.

“Being on dialysis is terrible,” Shiara said. “While I was waiting for my transplant, I wasn’t hopeful. I thought about statistics – that I would be waiting four or five years for a kidney since so many are needed.”

Shiara received her transplant on November 11, 2018, after a year of dialysis. She was not without complications, as FSGS is recurring, and impacted her new kidney, too.

Shiara began plasmapheresis treatments at UF Health Shands Hospital, making the nearly 1.5-hour journey from Inverness to Gainesville twice a week for a few months, before the treatment frequency was lessened to weekly, then every other week. In total, Shiara spent a year completing plasmapheresis treatments.

During her treatments, Shiara’s nurse was Jerry Lewis, an ambassador with LifeQuest Organ Recovery Services. Jerry’s wife was an organ donor when she passed away, and Jerry volunteered with LifeQuest as a guest speaker in high school classrooms, sharing the importance of donation with students. He encouraged Shiara to share her story with her classmates.

Since then, Shiara also was trained to be a LifeQuest Ambassador, and she has presented to Citrus High School students in multiple classes.

“I’ve loved volunteering,” Shiara said. “I love sharing my story and encouraging people to be donors. Donation is beautiful.”

Shiara graduated high school on time with A’s and B’s. She hopes to begin classes at Gainesville’s Santa Fe College in the coming year, where she plans to study nursing.

“Register as organ donors so others have a chance at life,” Shiara said. “When people get transplants, they can go on to experience and accomplish amazing things.”