SAN ANTONIO – Hundreds of nonprofits depend on your donations to keep serving our community. Tuesday is a 24-hour day of giving to support those organizations.
One of those organization's that is make a big impact on local families is the Texas Kidney Foundation.
Five-year-old Miguel Carmona has had its support since the day he was born.
By the looks of him, he’s just like any other kid. He can’t wait to show us his toy box and play.
Beneath the surface, you'd never know Miguel was born with the worst form of kidney disease and is fighting every day.
He has the scars to prove it. It's been one heck of a fight since the day he was born.
"We were told that we were being brought so we could be delivered and we could bury him," said Magdalena Carmona, Miguel's mom.
She said 16 surgeries later, her son still has a fighting chance. Miguel has never been able to go the bathroom like everyone else.
He has a port that allows the urine to drain into a diaper.
And, he's got operation No. 17 scheduled for Friday.
Miguel isn't alone in his fight. Nearly 5,000 people living in and around Bexar County are on dialysis or need a transplant to live. Miguel has had both.
"He would do about 10 hours of dialysis in his crib and we would attach the machine to his catheter," Carmona said.
"Once he received his transplant he's just grown and gotten so tall and strong," said Marilyn Garcia with the Texas Kidney Foundation.
She has seen the Carmona family go through it all.
The foundation offers help and support to families like theirs.
"Miguel has been such a joy to watch grow," said Garcia. His mother not taking these precious moments for granted.
"I always take it one day at a time to make sure that I know that we do each day to its fullest and know that we appreciate every day we have with him," Carmona said.