Faces of the Games
KLARISSA RAMIREZ
Eagan, Minnesota
Klarissa Ramirez was sickly from birth, but it wasn’t until she was 12 that her family learned what was really going on. Always tired and lacking energy, Klarissa was turning into a pre-teen couch potato. Her mom couldn’t stand seeing her daughter so inactive so she urged Klarissa to do something – anything—and sent her to try out for volleyball. In order to qualify for the team, Klarissa took a urine test during the required sports physical. Her mom was totally unprepared when the doctor told her there were massive amounts of protein in Klarissa’s urine, a sure sign of kidney damage. After further investigation, they learned that one kidney was failing and the other was tiny and had stopped growing when Klarissa was six months old.
When it became evident that a transplant was needed, Klarissa’s mom stepped forward and gave her a kidney in December of 2001. Today, both mom and daughter are living normal, healthy lives. Klarissa is a senior at Eagan High School who swims, rollerblades, plays tennis and is an organ donor activist. She recently signed on with Perfectly Petite modeling agency and is enjoying doing fashion shows. She is eagerly anticipating the National Kidney Foundation 2006 U.S. Transplant Games where she hopes to bring home the gold in swimming.
