Alana Duran was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease that attacks the body, when she was just 12 years old. Ever since then, she's endured a hip replacement, heart failure, the insertion of a pacemaker, and liver failure. She's been on dialysis and waiting for a kidney donor since 2011.
Even though she's been through so much, Alana still manages to be one of the happiest, most positive young women her family members have ever known. Her stepfather is nothing but honored to call her his "bonus daughter," and he says that he's never seen so much courage and strength in such a small package.
Alana met her girlfriend, Lori, on the dating app Tinder. They weren't expecting anything too special, but little did they know the app would change both of their lives forever. After dating for some time, Lori decided to get tested to see if she was a match for a kidney. No one in Alana's extended family was a match, but maybe Lori could be the one to get her off of that dialysis machine.
Lori put together a giant box full of small gifts for Alana to open, with one huge surprise at the very bottom. After making her way through the stack of thoughtful knickknacks and funny joke gifts, Alana finally makes it to the final gift, a buried treasure, and she just cannot contain her gratitude. This is the sweetest way to tell Alana the good news.
Make sure you make it all the way to 3:35!
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As most of you know I was diagnosed with Lupus at the age of 12. Lupus is an autoimmune disease where my body's immune system is overactive and it starts to attack different parts of my body; thinking that my body is a foreign invader. In my case my Lupus was very active when I was younger resulting in a hip replacement, going into congestive heart failure, getting a pacemaker implanted, going into kidney failure and ultimately going on dialysis. I've been waiting patiently for a kidney since 2011. It's been 4 years and no luck yet UNTIL a little while back my wonderfully amazing girlfriend Lori Interlicchio went and got tested to see if she was a match to donate a kidney to me. It turns out she is! Who knew that when we both swiped right on Tinder that day, that we would be more than just girlfriends but that she would be my kidney donor! It's so funny how things work out. Both of us going into this relationship not expecting anything out of the ordinary. It's just so amazing to me that she was willing to get tested and now she's super excited to donate one of her kidneys to me. Lori, I love you so much and I'm so excited that we get to do this together. You're the absolute best.WATCH TILL THE VERY END! 🙂
Posted by Alana Duran on Friday, November 20, 2015
