The desire to become a mother is something many women can relate to. Amber Kudrna didn't know if that would ever be a possibility for her.
Kudrna was born with only one kidney and it couldn't keep up with her growing body.
"When I was 15 my mom gave me one of her kidneys," Kudrna said. "That lasted about 8 years, then rejected and failed. Then I was on dialysis for two years. I received my second kidney in August of 2013."
After she got married, the desire to be a mother lay heavily on her heart.
"I love children," she said. "I love being around children. I just always wanted to have that baby and feel that motherly love."
But Kudrna needed the ok from her doctors.
"They looked at my history," she said. "Since my last transplant my kidney levels, my creatinine function, they had decided I was pretty steady for three years. They said yeah I don't see why you couldn't. Then we went to talk to high risk ob/gyn and they tell you everything that could go wrong. We're at a higher risk for preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, everything that a normal woman is at risk for, I'm doubled for those."
Her husband, Adam Kudrna, was a little skeptical after hearing about the risks.
"I couldn't imagine what it would be like if worst case scenario her kidney did fail," Adam said. "That is something we did talk about. This could put her in that situation and they we have a baby and a mom on dialysis."
"I wanted to be a mother so badly that I was willing to take the risks," Amber said.
Two months later, the Kudrna's found out they were expecting.
"I got weekly labs, I had lots of doctors appointments and they checked on the baby quite a bit just to make sure he was continuing to grow and develop," Amber said.
Lane was born in September.
"It's been a huge blur," Adam said.
"Lots of sleepless nights, the good moments definitely outweigh the bad moments," Amber said.
Amber credits her quick conception and perfect baby boy to her health.
"To be the best mother possible," Amber said. "You have to take care of yourself first. So that's preparing and taking care of yourself before and also after you have the baby. I think that was a really big motivation in taking care of myself was knowing I wanted this to happen one day."
Their advice to people in similar situations is to listen to your doctors because everyone is different.
"But the possibility is always there," Adam said.
Lane is living proof.
Two kidney transplants helped Amber remain healthy enough to have a baby.
There are more than 120,000 people in the United States waiting for a transplant right now.
You can help by becoming an organ donor. Click here to learn how the process works. It's easy to register to be an organ donor online.
