Jennifer S.

When my son Anthony was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome at just two years old, our world changed in ways we never could have anticipated. There have been hospital stays, medications, procedures, uncertainty and days that have felt incredibly heavy.

But somewhere along the way, Anthony taught us something so special: even the hardest parts of our story can become an opportunity to make life a little sweeter for someone else.

That idea became When Life Gives You Lemons, a children’s book inspired by Anthony, his siblings, and the incredible community that has surrounded our family throughout his rare kidney disease journey. What began as a way for me to process some of our hardest days grew into something much bigger, a story about resilience, kindness, community and what can happen when people show up for one another.

For our family, “playing it forward” means using Anthony’s story to help the next family feel a little less alone.

It looks like lemonade stands that bring an entire community together. It looks like finding fun and engaging ways to raise awareness and funds for organizations supporting families and advancing research. It looks like Anthony proudly advocating for fellow kidney disease warriors. And now, it looks like sharing our book in hopes that another child facing something difficult sees themselves in its pages.

We would never have chosen rare kidney disease to be part of Anthony’s story. But we can choose what we do with it.

When life hands us something sour, we can turn it into something sweet, and then pass that sweetness forward.

That’s how we Play It Forward.