9-year-old Ana suffers from rare kidney disease - you can help! | Families

9-year-old Ana Montanez is a normal, happy East Texas girl who just happens to be facing a serious medical condition. It's nearly unpronounceable: Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis Type 2.

It was only discovered after she went to visit her dad in West Texas this past summer; and suddenly her eyes and limbs began to swell. Her mom took her to the doctor and her intense journey to survive began as doctors at Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler and Children's Medical Center in Dallas struggled to figure out what was wrong with Ana.

Now that the kidney specialists in Dallas have diagnosed her with this serious disease, Ana is in the hospital frequently, battling blood clots and kidney failure. She has been admitted to the hospital eleven times in the past five months, and is in the hospital today.

 The ultimate outcome, doctors say, will be dialysis and the likely need for transplant surgery.

Ana's family does have medical insurance, but they also need money to pay for what insurance does not cover. There is a campaign at GiveForward.com to help the family raise $10,000 for Ana's medical and travel expenses.

So far, $1,895 has been donated. The campaign ends on February 1, so there are only two weeks left to help them reach their goal to help Ana.

We know many East Texans will want to pitch in; you can do so by sharing the link to this story on your own Facebook page, with your email contacts, or even with your classes at school or in church. The link to Ana's page with more detail about her and about her condition is found here.

Thanks, neighbors!