Beloved New Lenox Café Owners Seek Living Kidney Donor For Daughter

NEW LENOX, IL —A familiar face at a beloved New Lenox café is needing a little help, and her family is turning to the community they've seen come through their doors for 10 years.

It was news Gina Buck, owner of Gina's Teardrop Cafe, 826 W. Laraway Rd., never expected to hear—her daughter Maria, 24, was in stage five kidney failure. She'd need a kidney transplant, soon, and dialysis several times a week in the meantime. The news hit them hard, and they've been reeling ever since. The family has found themselves grasping for answers and next steps.

Since Maria's diagnosis in April, it's been a flurry of doctor's appointments, dialysis sessions and lab work. Buck and her husband Ken quickly tested to see if either could be a match, and with news this week that Ken has been eliminated as an option, the family shared word of their plight on the business' social media, urging anyone willing to see if they might be a match to help the friendly face they've seen often in the breakfast and lunch spot.

"We got it laid in our lap. It's been a lot," Buck told Patch, of what they've gone through. "We’ve kept this very private, but this is something that’s been ongoing.

"Business is business, and we usually don’t cross over and do this, but in this case, we had to."

Lincoln-Way Central graduate Maria had been healthy the majority of her life, Buck said, but in April began feeling persistently tired, and noticed swelling in her legs and ankles. Doctors diagnosed her, but Buck said they're not quite sure how this developed and progressed so quickly.

"We do know that she’s not diabetic," Buck said, "that’s the one thing we do know.

"We don’t really have any answers, we’re just trying to find the solution."

With all family members tested and determined not to be a match, now the Buck family casts a wider net.

As she waits, Maria continues to undergo dialysis three times a week, often coupled with transfusions, as well. Her life has gotten a lot less fun, Buck said.

"It’s been a lot of stuff going on in a 24-year-old’s life," Buck said. "It’s been appointments, after appointments, after appointments."

Maria loves bowling, and bowled on the high school's team, but with the port needed for dialysis, she's been forced to skip that activity. It's been difficult on her parents to see their normally upbeat daughter in such a stressful state.

"She’s fun-loving, a smiler," Buck said. "She loves to laugh."

The support shown to the family since the post has been heartwarming, Buck said.

"It’s been a huge outpouring since we announced it, just huge," she said. "People keeping us in their prayers, they’ve been amazing. We do know there are a lot of people out there that care for us.

"We are very blessed."

Some asked if the family had established an online fundraiser to support Maria, who's currently on disability. Buck said they have not yet taken that step, but might if they find a donor and the circumstances call for it.

"Our main goal is to get a kidney for her," Buck said. "If we find a living donor, and they do not have the financial means to take time off of work, we’ll start a GoFundMe at that point.

"Our focus is on her, and a kidney."

It's estimated that 37 million Americans have kidney disease, with nearly 810,000 Americans living with kidney failure, according to the American Kidney Fund. Approximately 570,000 Americans are on dialysis; 240,000 people are living with kidney transplants. Kidney disease is reportedly growing at an alarming rate, currently affecting more than 1 in 7 — or 15 percent — of American adults, with people of color at greater risk for kidney failure. Nine out of 10 people with kidney disease do not know they have it.

As of February 2022, there were 92,000 Americans on the kidney transplant waiting list. In 2021, 25,490 — or about 1 in 5 — were able to get a kidney, the American Kidney Fund reports. There were 5,971 living donor transplants performed in 2022. Living donors can play a huge role in changing prognoses, but donating can be frightening and overwhelming, and not without its own risks.

Anyone interested in learning more about possibly being a donor for Maria should contact Rylie Sisto at Rush University at the donor line at (312)947-4438. Don't forget to mention you are calling for Maria Buck.

Buck is hoping she finds someone willing to give this piece of themselves, for her daughter. If she or her husband could, they would.

"We just can’t help her as parents, that’s the hardest thing there," she said. "We can’t really help. That's a little hard."