S1:EP36 Joy, Even Here: A Story Of Kidney Failure, With Haley Rae

Welcome back to Moms With A Call, where real stories meet real faith. In this powerful and deeply human conversation, McKenzie and Rebecca sit down with their good friend, Haley Rae — brand and web designer, wife, sister, and transplant recipient — to walk through a story marked by resilience, grief, and the quiet decision to keep choosing joy. Haley shares how what began as severe migraines and high blood pressure slowly unfolded into something much more serious… a diagnosis of stage three kidney disease that would eventually progress to kidney failure. What followed was a season filled with uncertainty. Doctor visits. Treatments that didn’t quite work. Questions without clear answers. And then, in March 2025, everything shifted. Haley describes the moment her body crashed; critically low hemoglobin, emergency hospitalization, and the sudden beginning of dialysis. What had once been a distant possibility became her everyday reality overnight. She invites us into what life on dialysis actually looks like. The physical toll. The strict fluid restrictions. The loss of independence. The way your world quietly gets smaller. But beneath the medical journey is something even deeper. The grief of delayed motherhood. Two IVF attempts that didn’t go as planned. The emotional weight chronic illness places on marriage, friendships, and identity. And yet, woven through it all is something steady. Faith that doesn’t always explain the “why,” but holds her in the middle of it. A mindset shift toward choosing joy, not because circumstances are easy, but because joy becomes a form of survival. There’s recovery. There’s processing trauma. There’s learning how to live again in a body that has been through so much. Together, they talk about how hardship clarifies relationships, how receiving help can be just as hard as giving it, and how sometimes the most meaningful support is simply showing up. Episode Timeline 00:31 – Meet Haley Rae 01:59 – Transplant recovery update 03:09 – Diagnosis and early signs 05:06 – Dialysis and sister match 06:47 – Understanding kidney disease 08:19 – Emotional whiplash after diagnosis 11:09 – Life on dialysis 13:05 – Fertility and IVF setbacks 20:56 – Choosing joy and mindset 23:49 – Support system and community 31:00 – Faith through the hardest days 37:37 – Gratitude and sharing the story 40:24 – Transition into the transplant journey 42:09 – Emergency dialysis and health crash 43:37 – Fistula timing and medical urgency 44:17 – Family donor process 48:10 – The match phone call 50:29 – Surgery day emotions 53:19 – Life after transplant 55:44 – Donor recovery and process 58:50 – Processing trauma and PTSD 01:05:00 – Friendships in hardship 01:08:22 – Advice, hope, and surrender 01:17:31 – Closing reflections Connect With Haley: https://studiowilde.com https://www.instagram.com/haleyrae____/ Connect with Moms With A Call: Join the conversation with McKenzie + Rebecca on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, & YouTube → @momswithacall Get show updates, behind-the-scenes moments, and more at www.momswithacall.com Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon. Leave a review and let us know how this episode moved you — your words mean more than you know. If you or someone you know has a story of faith, healing, or redemption that could encourage others, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us at [email protected]. Intro + Outro Music by Jason Bowles Branding + Design by https://www.dvoorheisdesigns.com/