Jennifer McClung, 34, of Springville, has been an advocate for dialysis patients in Porterville and Visalia. She tells renal patients that dialysis isn't a death sentence. Now, she's in need of a both a kidney and a heart transplant to save her own life.(Photo: Teresa Douglass)

Jennifer McClung tells fellow renal patients that dialysis isn't a death sentence.

This 34-year-old woman from Springville started a support group at the American Renal Association's Porterville Dialysis Clinic, where she gets treatment three times a week, and attends a similar support group in Visalia.

Now, she's in need of support. Specifically, she needs both a kidney and a heart transplant to save her own life.

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She has to raise $10,000 this summer to get in line for a double transplant at the University of California San Francisco. Money raised would pay for living expenses in the San Francisco Bay Area after she's released from the hospital for a period of six weeks.

Her mother, Linda McClung of Visalia, plans to accompany her daughter and monitor her recovery.

So far, they've raised $550.

They invite the public to contribute to Jennifer's GoFundMe account and to attend a yard sale Aug. 1 at her mother's house in Visalia.

Her story

Jennifer began receiving dialysis treatments when she was 16 years old because her kidneys were too small to support her growing body, she said. Until two years ago, she received peritoneal dialysis at home while she slept at night.

Dialysis removes waste products from the body which is normally accomplished through the kidneys.

Each night Jennifer hooked up to a dialysis machine in her bedroom for 11 hours. Basically, a tube connected her peritoneal cavity in her abdomen to the machine. A solution would fill the cavity and empty back into the machine while she slept.

It's a gentler process than hemodialysis which involves the direct filtering of blood.

Two years ago, she got sick. Tests showed she had a cyst on one of her ovaries and her heart was enlarged.

After her ovary was removed, she had to go on hemodialysis which is tougher on the body, especially the heart, she said. When she first entered the dialysis clinic in Porterville, she was struck by the down-trodden atmosphere.

Hemodialysis is a difficult process to endure.

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"It's like your blood is going through a cheese grater to get cleaned and it throws it back into you," she said.

After treatment, she experiences a wiped out feeling that she calls a dialysis hangover. She has to eat to "sober up."

She said she wanted to show the other patients how to have a positive attitude. She started a support group and become a patient representative in Porterville. She convinced her dialysis clinic to offer bingo and serve root beer floats.

After she gets a new heart and a new kidney, she would like to become a speaker. Her message is clear.

"You can get through this and stay positive," she said.

Need help?

Does your nonprofit need specific help? We want to know about it. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call Inspire reporter Teresa Douglass at 735-3289. Talk to us on our website, www.VisaliaTimesDelta.com/section/inspire, or on the Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register's Facebook page.

How to attend

What:Yard sale to benefit Jennifer McClung's heart and kidney transplant

When: 6 a.m. to noon Aug. 1

Where: 2122 E. Princeton Ave., Visalia

Info: Contact Jennifer McClung at 359-0276 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Account: Donations are accepted at any Bank of the Sierra for "Jennifer's Transplant."

Website:GoFundMe.com/JenniferKidney

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