'She wants her life back' - south Essex mum renews daughter's kidney donor plea
Plea - Maya Solecki, 15, is in desperate need of a new kidney (Image: Maria Solecki)
THE mum of a Benfleet teenager in desperate need of a new kidney has renewed her plea for potential donors after a match was disqualified 'at the last minute'.
Maria Solecki is appealing for healthy residents under 55 to come forward if they would be willing to be tested for compatibility with her 15-year-old daughter Maya.
Following a previous Echo story in March, more than 20 residents volunteered to be potential kidney donors. Sadly, none were a match for Maya.
'It's tough and it's debilitating,' said Maria.
Support - A huge number of residents came forward following Maria's appeal in March (Image: Maria Solecki) 'We found out while we were in hospital last week that the person we thought was an excellent match donor actually had an undiscovered illness which disqualified them at the last minute.
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'She took it really hard because she'd had that taste of hope and could see the finish line.'
Maya was a healthy and active teenager before receiving a sudden diagnosis of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome in January 2024 - the rare disorder damages blood vessels and causes serious harm to patients' vital organs, including the kidneys.
Exhausting - Rounds of dialysis are taking their toll on Maya (Image: Maria Solecki)In the wake of the Echo's previous story earlier this year, Maya's doctors reportedly said they had never seen so much interest from the public.
The year 11 pupil is currently in the midst of her GCSEs, and is fitting in rounds of dialysis around her mock exams - something her mum describes as taking a huge toll on the determined teen.
'She just so desperately wants to get back to living a normal life,' said Maria.
Close - Maria has been overwhelmed by the support for her daughter (Image: Maria Solecki)
'Her actual exams start next week and even though she missed most of year ten she is managing to sit five GCSEs and has worked so hard to keep up with her education.
'Dialysis is not forever, it's hard on the body and takes time off your actual lifespan.'
As part of her plea for potential and willing donors, Maria has stressed even if someone is not a match for her daughter, they could still be a life-saver for someone else.
'As of April, there's 145 children on the kidney wait list and a donor could be a match for anyone of those patients,' she said.
If you are interested in donating to Maya, and are healthy, under 55,with a BMI under 30, email anita.copley@gstt.nhs.uk.
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It was too pricey to paint my car neon yellow so I tried leaving a cube tracker in the care and more lost hours wandering parking lots looking like a lost senior citizen. Best gift my brother ever gave me." —Twin4meGet it from Lowe's for $99.95. A stick-on medicine tracker Did I take my meds? It's an all too familiar question that I ask myself many times a day. This ingenious pair of trackers sticks onto your bottle to let you mark if you've taken your meds for the day. They're reusable and simply stick onto the review: "I have a problem remembering if I took a pill or not. This is very helpful!" —PlaceholderGet them from Amazon for $12.99 (available in two colors). An Alexa-controlled light bulb Lights are a pretty classic forgetting hot spot. You forget to turn them off. Or you forget to keep them on when you know you're coming home late. 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Setup is SO EASY and took me longer to screw in the lightbulb than it did for my Alexa app to recognize that there was a new device lol" —DanniGet it from Amazon for $11.99+ (available in three styles and as a four-pack). A set of Kasa smart plugs Speaking of turning things off and on, another top-seller here, Kasa smart plugs feel like another no-brainer for helpful reminder tools. Simply plug them into any outlet in your home and transform that into a "smart" outlet that you can control via your phone or voice and even set to turn on and off at specific times. Never stress about if you turned off your lights or hair straightener again or have to run back to your house to be sure your space heater is off. Promising review: "I use these for my lights and wax warmers. I love that my warmers are on a timer so I don't have to remember to go and turn them on and off every day." —GinaGet a four-pack from Amazon for $23.99. A visual Time Timer Another fav of mine to remember when I have to leave for stuff, when something is cooking, if I have a time constraint or really anything regarding tasks and staying on time is a visual timer. I have tried other, cheaper, timers and have always been sourly disappointed. The real deal Time Timer is easy to use, isn't an eyesore, is so clear to read and gives an effective visual of time passing. I don't have kids myself, but I imagine it's also a great tool for little ones who can't tell time yet. "The Time Timer allows you to see time passing,' Liz Lewis, ADHD coach and founder of Healthy ADHD previously told us. "You're more likely to start and then persist when you have a very obvious time constraint." The Time Timer is silent as it passes time (i.e. no annoying tick) and can be set up to ring when time is up or remain review: "I love this thing so much I ended up with 3 in my house and 1 at work. 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I've tried keeping planners and every other organizational system a 'normal' person could come up with, and I always end up losing something important in the jumble. I realized I was basically keeping multiple lists because they felt like 'different categories,' but juggling multiple lists can get confusing/overwhelming and it's easy to forget something. This puts them all in one place, categorized, and it's right out in the open (a common thing with ADHD is 'out of sight, out of mind' and planners are difficult because once they're closed it's like the stuff you wrote inside doesn't exist and you forget to open it and things get forgotten). TLDR; definitely recommend if you're a *multiple lists* type of person." — MileenaGet it from Amazon for $5.53. Or a set of eight magnetic note pads Old-school notepads are another classic. 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I was tired of putting notes in my phone because I hand write faster and hand writing helps me remember things better, but love having the digital access to notes. This solved my problem! I've wiped and reused several times with the included microfiber cloth and it looks like new after. Sometimes when you erase the Frixion pens the eraser leave behind a residue and the pen has trouble writing over that but after wiping with water the paper is fine and the pen writes perfectly. I love the Executive size (PERFECT to carry in a purse) but I love this so much that I want to get the larger size for at home too. I bought the turquoise color and it's really pretty. The app is really easy to use too, and the scans turn out great! I love this notebook and I'm so happy I don't need to spend all the money on sticky notes and traditional notebooks anymore or use all that paper for notes I don't need a hard copy of. I've recommended this to everybody I know and my sister bought one the day after I showed her mine. I'm a forever fan of the Rocketbook now!" —EmilyGet it from Amazon for $28.58+ (available in two styles and 13 colors). A clear, acrylic calendar A calendar is another pretty classic item that still feels worthwhile to put on this list. This clear option is good-looking and unobtrusive and can go on your fridge without making it look too busy to the eye. Use different colors for each of your family members to keep track of everyone's review: "This is a great addition. Clean looking. Family all onboard for weekly meals and any important things to remember!" —The Cfam ClanGet it from Amazon for $13.99 (also available in eight other styles and a smaller size).
