This story was originally published in the Miami Herald in partnership with the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media.
Para leer esta historia en español, haz clic aquí!
At 17, Brittany Calispa appeared to be a healthy, athletic teenager. She played soccer and was preparing to graduate from her final year of high school in Ecuador. Her kidneys were failing her silently, but she didn’t know it.
It all began with something that seemed harmless: a stye on one of her eyes that wouldn’t heal. Doctors in Ecuador prescribed medication and assured her it would get better. But on the third day of taking antibiotics, Brittany began feeling nauseous. She couldn’t breathe well. Her mother rushed her to the emergency room, where tests revealed she needed emergency dialysis.
“There was a night I couldn’t sleep because I felt like I was suffocating. When I was lying down I couldn’t catch my breath and my back hurt so much,” Brittany recalled.
There they discovered the real cause: Brittany needed dialysis because her kidneys had collapsed.
Doctors recommended transferring her to a specialized hospital where she could begin dialysis treatment. Upon arrival at Hospital del Seguro Social IESS (Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social), the young woman spent 15 days in intensive care, intubated and on dialysis three times a day. Still, she showed no improvement.
Finally, the medical team informed the family they could no longer continue dialysis because they had to prioritize patients with higher chances of recovery. Brittany, they said, had no chance of surviving.
That’s when Brittany’s mother’s uncle suggested they look for other options and come to the United States.
The young woman’s parents sold what little they had in Ecuador. On Nov. 15, 2023, Brittany and her family arrived in Hollywood, Florida. Upon landing, they were taken straight to Joe DiMaggio Children ‘s Hospital.
The doctors ran blood tests and X-rays. They discovered Brittany’s kidneys were hypoplastic— they hadn’t grown in proportion to her body. They couldn’t explain how she had survived 17 years with such small kidneys.
“When I was little no one ever told me I had kidney problems. They always said it was asthma; I grew up thinking that was my only diagnosis because sometimes I couldn’t breathe well. I never had urinary infections or inflammations, nothing that drew attention. That’s why no one imagined I had a kidney problem,” Brittany said.
At the hospital specialists placed a new catheter to start treatment and stabilize her. However, the only definitive solution was a kidney transplant. The doctors discussed two options: a deceased donor kidney or a living donor kidney. The first option was risky; the second offered better guarantees.
Brittany’s parents and siblings offered themselves as possible donors. Compatibility tests revealed that Brittany’s mother and her younger brother, Kevin, were the most suitable candidates. That’s when Kevin, only 19, made a decision that would change their lives: He would donate his kidney to save his sister.
The family had to buy two health insurance plans to cover both children’s surgeries. Despite the financial and emotional uncertainty, they went ahead.
“It’s hard to risk one child for another because you don’t know what might happen, but thank God both are fine,” said Reyna Espinoza, Brittany’s and Kevin’s mother.
The operation took place on April 28, 2025. The surgery was a success. Both siblings spent months recovering, isolated to avoid infections.
Today, seven months later, Brittany no longer needs dialysis, attends regular medical checkups as part of the transplant protocol, and is slowly resuming activities she had paused during her illness.
One of the people who left the biggest impression on her during treatment was Alexa, a nurse Brittany nicknamed “Barbie” because she was tall and blonde.
“I was inspired to become a nurse by Alexa, because she was always looking out for me and her dedication made me think: I want to help like that someday,” Brittany said.
Brittany currently takes English classes in the ESOL program at Sheridan Technical College. Once she completes all levels of the language, she will be able to enroll in the college courses she needs to reach her goal of studying nursing — the future she dreams of.
However, life for the Calispa family remains challenging, as they had to start from scratch in a new country to save the young woman. They still face migration barriers like the language and searching for scholarships for Brittany. Her family members do everything they can to support themselves with work permits.
Adilia Ortega, social worker for the organ transplant program at Memorial Hospital Pembroke, was the one who nominated Brittany to receive help from the Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald Wish Book.
Brittany hopes Wish Book will help her with monetary donations to study nursing and provide a laptop for her assignments —preferably a MacBook.
“Brittany’s story is a testament to resilience, family strength, and the transformative impact of living organ donation. The love and support of her family were essential throughout the process, and her brother’s selfless act of donating a kidney truly changed her life,” Ortega said.
