SPARTA, Tenn. - Family members of a 73-year-old grandmother from White County are hoping an unusual advertising campaign will help save her life.
Mary Ann Catron began experiencing the early signs of kidney failure three years ago. Recently, things have gotten so bad for the owner of Spar Gas in Sparta that she's had to rely on dialysis to live.
"She had the problem for a long time and she just started feeling worse. Right now she’s at stage IV kidney failure. At that time when they found it, she was stage III," explained Mary Ann's daughter, Sabrina.
Sabrina said time for her mother is quickly running out, as doctors believe the beloved grandmother has only two percent of her kidneys working.
"That means her kidneys are shutting down, if she doesn’t get a kidney transplant she will die, she’ll die. We love her we want her to be here with us and we need help," Sabrina said holding back tears.
Desperate to find her mom a kidney, Sabrina started thinking outside the box -- that’s when she realized the box just needed to be a rectangle.
"I thought, ‘well somebody’s advertising on billboard, why can’t someone adversity to help for a kidney,’" Sabrina said about idea she came up with a few months ago.
Sabrina and her family have now purchased advertising space on four billboards across Middle Tennessee asking people to donate their "Kidney 4 Nana."
"I hope it makes someone see them and go and be checked, not only for her but everyone else who needs a kidney," Sabrina added.
At 73-years-old, Mary Ann isn’t exactly on the top of any donor lists, so this may be her only chance.
Sabrina estimates the billboards are costing her $1,200 a month. But what does that matter she said, if it saves her mother’s life.
"That price tag doesn’t matter one bit if I could find a match for my mom."
For more information: http://www.kidney4nana.org/
