By T.J. Banes | IU Health
Former Seymour resident Cindy Mundy is pulling out all of the stops, including vehicle window stickers, because she needs a new kidney.
When she felt healthy, Mundy, who now lives in Columbus, loved training dogs and riding her bicycle. But these days, she counts on her two miniature collies to provide comfort as she awaits a kidney transplant.
Diagnosed in 1991 with a rare autoimmune disease called granulomatosis with polyangiitis, or Wegener’s disease, Mundy became a patient at IU Health in Indianapolis last year when her kidneys began to fail.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Her kidney function is now down to just 6%. She was placed on the national organ transplant list Aug. 1, 2018.
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis causes inflammation of the blood vessels that can cause damage to walls of the arteries and veins. The damage interferes with normal blood flow to tissues and can injure or destroy organs.
Many patients show symptoms similar to a cold or sinus infection, such as nasal congestion, fever, weakness and joint pain. Mundy was initially hospitalized closer to home in Columbus but was rushed to IU Health Methodist Hospital when she began coughing up blood.
“I spent two weeks in intensive care on life support and coded twice,” Mundy said. “At one point, they told my mom if I made it through the weekend, they’d know the next course of treatment.”
She started a high dosage of Cytoxan, a type of chemotherapy that caused her to lose her hair. She developed staph infections and was treated with antibiotics.
“Over the years, you go into remission, but you never get rid of it. You’re on drugs and off drugs,” Mundy said.
Because of her health, she is no longer able to work and is on the waiting list for a kidney transplant and is in the care of nephrologist Dr. Louis Seele.
“He’s said over and over he can’t believe I’m not on dialysis. I know I’ve fought it off, but it’s getting closer,” said Mundy, who is married to Kenny Mundy.
Her four siblings have been tested as a match, along with her husband and daughter, Kaitlyn Galloway.
The family started a Facebook page, Find a kidney 4 Cindy, and they have created car stickers for their vehicles. Kaitlyn and Mundy’s sister-in-law, Michelle Knight, also have organized a fundraiser.
A Kidney for Cindy Benefit Dinner will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Sandy Creek Christian Academy, 5707 N. Sandy Creek Drive, Seymour. Admission is $10. A spaghetti dinner will be served, and there will be a live auction of donated items from local businesses.
Proceeds from the event will go to help Mundy pay her medical bills.
Those who cannot attend but still want to help may make a donation through the Facebook fundraiser page Find a kidney 4 Cindy.
According to the National Kidney Foundation, more than 3,000 new patients are added to the kidney waiting list each month. The IU Health Kidney Transplant Program performs more than 200 kidney transplants annually. In 2018, the program ranked 33 out of 240 transplant centers performing kidney transplants.
“I have a lot of faith in the transplant program and in IU Health,” Mundy said. “My daughter was born at Methodist at 33 weeks and came home on Mother’s Day 1998. Before that, I lost a son here due to preterm labor. IU Health has sort of become my second home.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: A Kidney for Cindy Benefit Dinner
When: 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Sandy Creek Christian Academy, 5707 N. Sandy Creek Drive, Seymour
Admission: $10 includes a spaghetti dinner and live auction of donated items from local businesses
Information: Visit the Find a kidney 4 Cindy Facebook page
[sc:pullout-text-end]