Meet Samerya.

After a long journey trying to find a diagnosis for Samerya’s illness, Children’s National discovered that Samerya had a disease of the kidneys that prevented her body from breaking down proteins and caused scarring on her kidneys and her body to swell.

At 4 years old, Samerya had her kidneys removed through her belly button. After 11 months on dialysis, Samerya received a kidney transplant. The transplant itself was a success. Unfortunately, her syndrome returned and is affecting her new kidney.

Samerya will remain on anti-rejection medicine as her talented caregivers figure out the next steps. For now, her disease is in remission, and Samerya maintains a positive outlook on life. She loves the Food Network and anything to do with princesses. When she grows up, she wants to be a nurse and help kids in the hospital like her.