A 7-year-old Las Vegas girl named Aryelle remains hospitalized weeks after she was rushed to the hospital in September with kidney failure, following months of her mother searching for answers doctors wouldn't give. Her kidney function had dropped to just five percent by the time she was admitted, and she is now undergoing regular dialysis while she waits for a donor.
Aryelle's mother, Jessica Leyva, told KLAS 8 News Now that her daughter had struggled with health issues since she was five years old. Leyva said the warning signs built for months before the hospitalization: weight loss, severe muscle weakness, and eventually an inability to walk. “She was losing weight; she had a lot of muscle weakness. She couldn't walk,” Leyva said.
Despite those symptoms, Leyva said doctors had been telling her for years to be patient. “They kept telling me since 2022 to just give her time,” she told the station. That reassurance continued even as Aryelle's condition deteriorated, leaving her mother to keep pressing for answers on her own.
A Swollen Face and a Missed Diagnosis
The turning point came in September, when Aryelle's face began to swell and Leyva brought her into urgent care, initially suspecting a tooth infection. “I took her in because her face started swelling,” Leyva said. Doctors at the time prescribed antibiotics, but according to the same report, Aryelle's symptoms got markedly worse just a few days later.
It was at that point a doctor told Leyva her daughter needed to be rushed to the hospital immediately — her kidneys were failing. Aryelle has since undergone surgery and, weeks later, remains hospitalized at Summerlin Hospital, where she continues to receive dialysis on a regular basis.
Life From a Hospital Bed
Aryelle is now being homeschooled from her hospital room, with Leyva serving as her full-time caregiver throughout the ordeal, the station reported. The family is still waiting for a kidney donor to become available, a wait that for many families can stretch on without a clear timeline.
Nationally, the picture for pediatric kidney transplant candidates has shifted over the past decade. According to data from the Health Resources and Services Administration, the share of pediatric candidates on the waiting list who were not yet on dialysis climbed to 54.7 percent in 2024, up from 32.1 percent in 2013, and more than 61 percent of pediatric candidates removed from the list that year received a deceased donor kidney.
Research has also pointed to unequal access along the way to that outcome. A study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics found sociodemographic disparities in how quickly pediatric kidney transplant candidates reach the waiting list, with non-white and publicly insured candidates more likely to face delays.
A Mother's Plea to Other Parents
Leyva said she hopes sharing her daughter's story will push other parents to push back when something feels wrong, even if doctors urge patience. She is advising families to trust their instincts and advocate firmly for their children's care.
For now, Leyva and Aryelle are waiting for a kidney donor as the 7-year-old continues dialysis in the hospital where she has spent the past several weeks.
