Five years of dialysis, a kidney donation and transplant and a whole nursing program later, the mother and daughter are set to graduate next week.
BATON ROUGE, La. — A mother and her daughter are using their shared medical journey to help others.
The duo, Nija Butler and Ambrealle Brown from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are graduating from the same nursing program Tuesday.
Their journey to graduation was complicated, though.
“My aspiration had always been to become a nurse,” Brown expressed. “I was in the process of completing the necessary prerequisites when I experienced renal failure. Coping with the immediate health issue forced me to pause my education.”
During a routine medical appointment, Brown received the unsettling news that she had a rare medical condition that had the potential to progress to complete kidney failure or even death without undergoing dialysis treatment or receiving a kidney transplant.
“I was fortunate to have an incredible support network, and this played a significant role in my journey,” Brown shared. “The unwavering support of my family, friends, and faith sustained me during moments when I lacked the strength to persevere. Dealing with kidney disease is undeniably challenging, but with faith and a positive outlook, even the most arduous circumstances have the potential to transform into something truly remarkable.”
After 5 years of watching her daughter go through dialysis, Butler decided she would get tested to see if she was a match for her daughter and best friend.
“Even though I was being told that I probably wouldn’t be a match, I just said ‘all they can do is tell me yes or no,’” Butler told WAFB.
The answer was yes. Butler was a perfect match for her daughter.
Brown says getting the call about having a kidney was “the best feeling in the world,” but wished it wasn’t her mother who had to go through the process.
Both women recovered well from their surgeries and applied to Baton Rouge General Medical Center to become registered nurses.
Butler was accepted but Brown was waitlisted. The school says she was accepted into the program just a day before the semester started, allowing the duo to attend at the same time.
“This journey wasn’t easy, but doing it side by side with my biggest inspiration — my mom — made every step worth it,” Brown wrote in a social media post.
Both have completed their degrees and are set to graduate next week, but Brown says the fight isn’t over yet.
“You still have to show up every single day — taking medications, getting enough rest, doing the work to stay healthy. It’s a lifelong commitment,” she said. “But through it all, I found strength… You only need one reason to keep going. Just one. Hold on to it and don’t let go.”
She encourages everyone to go to their routine checkups because “early detection can save lives.”
“What may seem small can turn into something life-changing,” she said.
Brown and her mother aren’t the only ones in the family graduating this spring. Her brother Terrington is graduating from Southern University and A&M College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and her sister Madison is graduating from Xavier University with a bachelor’s in Chemistry. All within days of each other.
“This moment is more than a personal achievement; it’s a family victory, a testament to resilience, faith, and the power of never giving up,” Brown wrote in a social media post.
She thanks God “for blessing me with two incredibly supportive parents,” saying she is “forever grateful.”
