Missed activities and canceled vacations was the norm for Belinda Griggs while on dialysis for a rare kidney disease attacking her immune system.

One transplant and four years later, a weeklong trip to Virginia Beach became a major milestone for Belinda in 2015.

“I shocked my husband by getting up at 6 in the morning to walk on the beach,” Belinda says. “This would have never been possible before the transplant.”

Belinda says her experience in Virginia Beach was such a stark contrast to her life pre-transplant, when she was unable to travel for nearly 11 years.