CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — Erendira Mosqueda's bags are packed, and her phone is staying close by her side, as she waits for the call that could save her life — a kidney transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.
"I finally got listed. They told me to pack, so now I'm just waiting for the call," Mosqueda said.
Mosqueda has been waiting for three long years to be added to a kidney transplant waitlist in Arizona. She's been on dialysis for nearly six years.
"I'm so excited and I can't sleep. I'm looking at my phone anytime it rings thinking, 'Is it them?'" Mosqueda said.
Mosqueda says now she's just waiting for the call when the Mayo Clinic has found her a matching donor.
In the meantime, Mosqueda, who likes to goes by Eren, is continuing the hardest part of her life as she waits for the call: dialysis.
"I'm sick all the time. Like this morning, I threw up," Mosqueda said.
Her house tells the story of her struggle — hundreds of boxes of medical supplies filling every wall, corner, and room. Her sickness surrounds her, but Eren refuses to give up her fight, especially for her family.
"I don't ever want to pass away one day, and my kids say I didn't try hard enough, that I didn't try. I want my family to know that I never gave up ever. I want them to know that I fought until the end. I want them to know that for them," Mosqueda said.
Long journey to the transplant waitlist
Getting to this point has been a long and emotional journey. Eren was born with Spina Bifida. Despite what doctors told her, she still ended up walking and even gave birth to three children, but they live with special needs. Eren is unable to work, and beyond her immediate family, there's no real support system.
However, Eren remains mentally strong and fit.
Eren said, "Your mental health is important — you need it so you can fight better."
Eren is still on a waitlist for a kidney transplant here in California at Sharp Healthcare Chula Vista; however, the waitlist in California typically takes anywhere between 10-12 years.
After year three of being on dialysis, Eren was growing more concerned that the odds were she wouldn't survive.
For the longest time, Eren believed she was only able to get a kidney transplant here in California, but then a friend gave her an idea: why not check to see if she could get a kidney transplant in another state?
Eren asked her dialysis nurse and found it to be true.
Eren started making calls to hospitals in other states, and eventually, came across the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.
After extensive research, Eren decided that the Mayo Clinic in Arizona was the best choice for her, based on its success rate records and proximity, as it is close to Chula Vista.
However, the biggest challenge for this move would be the expenses, as a kidney transplant in Arizona would come with a higher price tag, including travel, housing, and additional costs.
Good Samaritan steps in
Eren admits that she was losing hope. She was trying her best to fundraise. She came up with spaghetti dinner nights, raffles for skincare packages, and even crocheted a blanket to raffle. Her creative ideas weren't raising enough.
Then, a Good Samaritan came into her life at that moment.
In November of 2024, Eren says her prayers were answered when she met the man she calls her angel: Marc Paskin.
Former ABC 10News reporter Madison Weil was the one who discovered Eren's story, and through her reporting, Paskin also learned about Eren's story.
"I was watching my favorite news Channel 10 one night," Paskin said.
Paskin, a real estate investor and La Jolla philanthropist, contacted Weil and told her that he would pledge to help Eren through her transplant journey.
In November, ABC 10News arranged the meeting and was there to capture the moment when he surprised Eren at her Chula Vista home, pledging to help cover her medical journey to Arizona.
"Basically, what I'm doing is helping her pay for expenses that insurance won't cover. So insurance might cover the transplant, but she'll need a condo or house after the transplant, food, a caregiver, medications, and groceries. We came up with a list, and the total was about 100,000 dollars," Paskin said.
Paskin said helping Eren is about more than just writing a check to her.
"My goal is by Christmas, she will have the transplant finished, it will be successful, and she'll have her first Christmas without dialysis. I believe it's going to happen," Paskin said.
Renewed hope and health
Paskin's pledge changed Eren's outlook on life.
"I love him. I text him all the time," Eren said. "I say he's just like my grandpa, my dad... just an angel."
With the stress of planning her Arizona trip now out of the way, Eren started focusing on transforming her health and appearance while waiting for the transplant.
"When I first started dialysis, my body changed a lot to a degree that I didn't like. I was gray, ashy, my skin was dry, my hair was crunchy, and that's not me. I just started working hard on my skincare and ways to help my body," Eren said.
Eren said her transformation is something her cardiologist also noticed.
"She told me last week that my heart changed and my heart started pumping better," Eren said. "Last time I saw her, I was worried about fundraising and getting to Arizona, and all that stuff. So she told me my heart is pumping better because of less stress, and that's huge."
Eren said she's also started envisioning and planning for the future — one with hope for a full life.
"I want to go to the drive-in with my kids," Eren said. "I don't even care what movie it is. I just want to sit and eat popcorn with my kids in the car and be silly. I just want to go to the movies with my kids."
Eren also wants everyone to know that she's sharing her journey on her TikTok. It's not just about her, though. Eren wants to be there for others who are going through the same journey as her, waiting for a kidney transplant.
Eren knows firsthand the daily toll dialysis takes. That’s why she’s sharing her own skincare, makeup, and even fragrance tips—products she says work better than the standard supplies often provided at dialysis centers.
Her goal to encourage people to stay mentally strong as she is.
To follow Eren on TikTok, click here: @lifewitheren
