Cambridge woman continues to give back to community post surgery

Carmen Farrere has been waiting for a new kidney for years, then just days after Christmas she received the call of a lifetime: a kidney with her name on it.

Relief for the mother of two battling a rare kidney disease for 8 years now. Farrere had IgA Nephropathy, which is a disease that affects the functioning of your kidney, where they don't know really what causes it.

Before surgery, she had been undergoing home dialysis tied up to a machine three times a week, all while struggling to hold down a job.

Her first sign of illness at just 26 years old, where at such a young age, she found out that her kidney was malfunctioning.

Her rock through it all, her husband, Raymond, who has been with her when she got the call on December 28th and by her side at the hospital later that very same day.

He even took a leave of absence to help take her to doctors visits back and forth to Baltimore for follow-up care.

Farrere is also healing from surgery, but also healing from a pain closer to her heart. She lost her mother to cancer earlier in the year.

Farrere says, "I's always been my desire to see others do well and give back to others. So when this came about you know it was kind of hard. I'm use to being that strong person and doing for other people. And I still try to do that."

And despite the hard times, Carmen had hope in her eyes and positivity in her smile as she spoke to 47 ABC.

Determination to carry on in her mission to help others.

And while she'd never ask for help – her friends are doing it for her.

They've created a Go Fund Me page called Campaign Carmen, to help relieve some of that financial burden during here recovery process, you can find here.