Son takes to social media to help mom get a life-saving kidney transplant

A 13-year-old Grand Forks, North Dakota, boy has turned to social media to save his mother's life.

Mandi Sticka, 34, has been battling kidney disease for more than two years, and last winter, the family had hope when a complete stranger offered to donate one of her kidneys, her GoFundMe Page says.

But during the final tests before the procedure, doctors discovered an unknown medical issue with the donor, so they couldn't go through with the surgery, WDAY reports.

Sticka told WDAY that it was "heartbreaking" that the

"It just seemed like everything was going so perfect and I was going to get a kidney and be better," Sticka told WDAY.

But she's staying positive, telling the news station that "I know when it's my time, it will happen."

Now, Sticka's son, Addison Wunsch, is hoping another stranger will be selfless enough to donate a kidney to his mother. He posted a photo of himself holding a sign pleading for help so his mom "will be around to watch me grow up," the sign says.

Anyone who is able to help the family is asked to email kidney4mymom@gmail.com.

Sticka is also registered on the national kidney transplant list, WDAY says. She has been on the list for more than a year, and expects to wait a lot longer: the average wait is seven to nine years, the news station says.

There are currently more than 101,000 people in the United States in need of a kidney, but only 17,000 receive one each year, the National Kidney Foundation says, noting 12 people die every day while waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant.