‘I just can’t give up, I gotta keep pushing…’: Albany mom to receive kidney, community rallying behind her

Over the weekend, a car wash/fundraiser was held to help raise money in expenses of getting Graham the kidney.

ALBANY, Ga. – The road has been rough, but Santana Graham is continuing to keep the faith and is now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

In May of 2008, Graham’s life was turned upside down as she found out that she has Lupus; a disease where your body’s immune system attacks its own tissue and organs. But it wasn’t until she went to second doctor at Emory Hospital when she found out about the disease.

“I was crying, the doctor didn’t tell me what it was. [The] only thing I can remember was the person I knew had it, and she passed away.” said Graham.

There are other related health conditions that can occur in the body, such as arthritis, and  fibromyalgia. For Santana, it was kidney failure. She received that diagnosis in 2017, but an anonymous donor came forward in December of 2021 with a kidney in what some may call a Christmas miracle.

“I couldn’t believe it. I cried and cried, because I know that I did what I was supposed to do and it was my time, so I’m just overwhelmed.” said Graham.

Graham’s daughter, Saniyah Graham says though the journey was tedious her mom persevered.

“It’s been a tough journey, because some days she have good days, then she have bad days, then days where she’s tired, draining. But now that she’s getting a kidney it’s been going better because no she see that everything falling in line.” said Saniyah.

Over the weekend, coordinators Brenda Battle and Tom Gieryic joined forces to bring the community out to help support Santana. Insurance covers only 80% of the expenses, which is why Battle and Gieryic stepped in to help with post op recovery in raising money for the 20% that is left.

If you would like to make a contribution, click the GoFundMe link here.

Stay with South Georgia Television News as we continue to update you on the journey of Santana Graham.