‘God’s timing was perfect’: UNCW student celebrates kidney transplant after 7-Year battle

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - After seven years on dialysis, 26-year-old UNCW student Stephanie Ortiz has a brand-new lease on life.

Ortiz was just a teenager when her life changed overnight. An active, athletic high schooler who loved playing soccer, she suddenly found herself exhausted and constantly struggling to catch her breath.

“I used to play soccer, and I would just run out of breath a lot,” Ortiz said. “I loved playing soccer, and I loved being active, but I was always really tired, and they would call me lazy.”

Diagnosed with lupus and stage 4 kidney failure, she spent years battling severe illness, broken hips and depression. The physical pain and emotional weight took a toll, and fear kept her from pursuing a transplant.

“I was afraid of everything,” Ortiz said.

With the loving support of her family, she found the hope and courage to join the transplant waitlist this year.

In August, Ortiz was also awarded scholarship funds from the Willie Stargell Foundation, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting kidney disease patients. The scholarship lifted a significant financial weight from her education.

On Sept. 27, a little over a month after receiving the scholarship, Ortiz found out a kidney was waiting for her in Chapel Hill.

“It just happened so fast,” Ortiz said. “I was like, ‘Wait, am I getting the kidney?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah.’”

Today, Ortiz is looking toward a bright future after receiving the life-saving transplant, surrounded by the love of her family and the backing of a caring community.

Free from the hurdles that once held her back and eager to return her focus to her studies, she plans to earn a degree in social work to advocate for other kidney disease patients.

“God’s timing was perfect,” Ortiz said.