Angie Sorensen used to visit the emergency room once or twice a year with all the symptoms of a kidney stone. Over the last three years, it took Angie longer and longer to recover from these painful incidents with her kidney’s, and her pain became a more permanent part of her life.

Angie sought help at a local pain clinic, and that was where she first heard about loin pain hematuria syndrome (LPHS), a rare pain syndrome that is characterized by unexplained flank pain and blood in the urine. Then after Googling the condition, she found many women who had sought treatment at the University of Wisconsin Health Renal Auto-transplant Program, but she didn’t feel quite ready for the treatment they had undergone so Angie continued trying to find treatment alternatives and ways to manage the pain. But Angie now knows that all those years of supposed “kidney stones” were actually symptoms of LPHS.

During the summer of 2022, Angie went back to University of Wisconsin Health and talked with the transplant surgeon who felt this surgery would be right for her. Angie’s first renal auto-transplant was on October 1st, 2022 and she was pain free for six months until her other kidney flared up. Angie then had her second auto transplant on July 22 which was a rough recovery but has since been successful.

Angie, her husband and their three children reside in Ulen, MN. After years of managing kidney pain and having 2 surgery’s in the last year, the Sorensen’s have been experiencing financial hardship.

Lend A Hand Up will boost your online donation 20% to make your generosity go further – all proceeds go to Angie.  Cash/Check donations must be made payable and gifted directly to the Sorensen’s.