At age 27, Ana Maria Villalobos was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that causes inflammation of the lining of the joints. Over time, the illness destroyed the cartilage in many of her extremities and was the cause of agonizing pain and severe mobility restrictions. In 2002, the Mexico City native had a left hip replacement in 2002. Then a left knee replacement in 2007, a right knee replacement in 2008, and a right hip replacement in 2011.
“I was told by my doctor that the bone of tissue donors was made into a cement paste that glued my bones and allowed me to heal better and faster,” said a grateful Villalobos. “If it wasn’t for the people who said yes to tissue donation and my surgeries, I would be in a wheelchair today.”
However, her appreciation for the gift of life started much earlier. As she struggled with her illness, her own son, Moises Barrios, was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2003. Moises was in his early thirties and the diagnosis was devastating – starting dialysis turned his life upside down.
“He was on dialysis for nine years. They were the most difficult and painful years of my life. Every time he would leave for the treatment, he would say ‘I’ll see you in a while!’ I would close the door and pray to God that he would come back to me. Some days he would come back with his eyes down, looking sad, and he would tell me, ‘Remember such and such person I told you about? He lost the fight.’ We did not talk about it, but I would wonder when his time would come up.”
When the ninth anniversary of his dialysis treatment was coming around, Moises got a call from his transplant center that a kidney had been matched to him – a moment of pure joy for Ana Maria. However, the success of a transplant is impossible to predict, and in Moises’ case, it did not work well from the very beginning. A year after his transplant, Moises passed away.
Despite her grief, just one month after Moises’ passing, and thanks to her surgeries and tissue donation, Ana Maria was already back doing what she loves best: introducing people to the need for organ and tissue donation at a community event as an Embajadora de Done Vida volunteer for Donate Life California.
“I do it for Moises,” states Ana Maria. “I know what people on the waiting list and their families go through. I don’t want anyone to experience that. If I can help, if it is only one life, I’ve done my purpose.”
High concentration of Azithromycin in infected tissues is also caused by the fact that phagocytes and macrophages transport it to the site of infection and release in the area of inflammation. Azithromycin is prescribed in case of illness or injury at the time.
