My name is Mayra Montiel. I am a US Army Veteran, a 43-year-old wife, mother, and proud grandmother. I have been married to my best friend, a fellow veteran, for over two decades, and together, we have built a beautiful family—five wonderful children and two precious grandchildren.
At 18 years old, I enlisted in the U.S. Army, where I served as a unit armorer at Fort Hood, Texas. It was during my service that I met my husband, who went on to make the military his career, deploying multiple times to the Middle East.
After completing my service, I followed a different path, becoming a secondary English Language Arts teacher—a role that has allowed me to inspire young minds and share my love of learning for the past 16 years.
However, after just four years of teaching, my life took an unexpected turn. I began experiencing severe migraines, unaware that they were a symptom of dangerously high blood pressure. After nearly a year of testing and uncertainty, I was diagnosed in 2012 with IgA Nephropathy, a rare autoimmune kidney disease. With no family history of this condition, I still don’t fully understand why I developed it.
For 12 years, my disease remained stable, allowing me to continue teaching, caring for my family, and living life to the fullest. But this past year, my kidney function declined drastically. Thankfully, I have been placed on the transplant list, and I now wait with hope for a life-saving donor match.
My greatest wish is to be here for my family—to watch my children and grandchildren grow, to see them chase their dreams, and to continue sharing life’s precious moments with them. I humbly ask for the gift of life so that I can keep being the wife, mother, and grandmother that my family loves and needs. If you or someone you know is willing to consider the incredible act of kidney donation, I would be forever grateful. Your kindness could give me the chance to live many more years with those I cherish most.
For medically cleared donors, giving the gift of life through living kidney donation has been proven to be very safe. DOVE will assist all prospective donors throughout the process and make sure they do not incur any out-of-pocket expenses related to the evaluation or surgery. A healthy person can live a normal life with one kidney and save Mayra’s life with the other!
Your support, whether through spreading the word on social media or considering becoming a donor, can make a profound impact on her life and the life of her family!
Please click on the link below if you would like to learn more OR call (551) 233-1611