DENVER -- From fund-raising runs to dining-out-for-a-cause, friends and family of a very sick mother are pulling out all the stops. Everyone's trying to get a second kidney transplant for Krista.

Krista Doty was diagnosed with Hepatitis C six years ago. After she and husband, David, suffered three miscarriages, they were told to give up their dreams of becoming parents.

"The doctors said, 'You're crazy, don't do this.' We had a doctor that told us, not in so many words, but that we should get an abortion when we found out we were pregnant. And just, 'No way!'" said David.

Krista was pregnant with twin boys -- Sam and Ben -- but Ben didn't make it.

The enhanced photo of Ben, the foot mold, and the statue of Jesus all remind them that they're lucky.

Krita's first transplanted kidney in August 2003 failed several months after she received it.

"Our faith brings us back up," said David.

And both are grateful for what they do have -- Sam.

"I can't even imagine him not being here. Every, every second is worth it," Krista said.

But now, walking is a chore for her.

She takes 42 pills a day. Three days a week, they all get ready to go for dialysis treatment -- it's a Doty family tradition.

With chronic kidney disease, surviving until the next transplant is a race against time.

"It is a very big issue and very important and what makes this all very life-threatening," said Dr. Michel Chonchol, a nephrologist.

Krista gets dialysis treatment so that the machine can clean her blood.

Once the blood leaves the body for the last time, and is processed through the artificial kidney, the excess water and toxins are removed through other tubes. Krista loses more than two pounds during the four-hour treatment.

It's a dangerous procedure. Nurses watch blood pressure levels because her risk of heart disease is higher. Twenty-five percent of these patients die before they get what they need -- a new kidney.

A 5k run at the Aurora Reservoir last month drew 100 people in the cold -- many of them strangers willing to help raise $2,000 to help with Krista's medical bills.

"I guess the thing that keeps coming back to me is I feel very much at peace about this," Krista said.

The family is working on a match now and hopes to have the second transplant surgery in late March.

"I do feel confident," David said.

"Hopefully, it's the last kidney transplant, but I'm sure it's not going to be the last challenge our family ever faces," Krista said.

The Doty family has insurance but still spend $500 a month just on prescription drugs. All three Denver-area Fuddrucker's burger restaurants will host a Dining Out for Krista night on Thursday, Feb. 16, giving a portion of their profits.

To learn more about fund-raisers and how you can help, go to http://www.kidneyforkrista.com/.