Jackson State student beats COVID-19, but still needs kidney transplant

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Tiranda Plummer can’t believe she is back at Jackson State, even being able and to reunite with the Sonic Boom of the South.

Back in January, she tested positive for COVID-19 and left school to go back to her home in Georgia.

Plummer was able to beat COVID, but she was hospitalized for more than three weeks after finding out the virus had targeted her kidney.

She admits it was a mental and physical nightmare. She even shared her story with 3 On Your Side, but Plummer never lost faith and knew she would return to school.

“I prayed and prayed and prayed while in the hospital that no matter what happens, even if I’ll be back in school on dialysis and then have one functioning kidney, that I will be back in school and I will be back doing the things I love,” she said.

Her prayers were answered.

She returned to JSU this fall for her senior year. Plummer is back as a section leader in the band and has traveled and played at a few games. But her fight is far from over.

She gets dialysis treatments three days a week. In fact, she completed a five-hour treatment right before this interview.

“The average dialysis patient wouldn’t have the energy to do that, but it’s because of the Sonic Boom of South, I find my strength and my energy because it’s somewhere I really want to be,” she said.

Plummer is still in search of an O-positive (O+) kidney donor, and she’s confident that perfect match is coming.

The senior has also started a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses as she waits.

“There’s a purpose in the wait, there is a purpose in patience,” she said. “I know my kidney may not come tomorrow, I know it may not come next week, but when it comes, I will be extremely thankful for it. I will better understand the purpose of the trial that I am going through.”

If you would like to help or think you’re a kidney match with this JSU student, please contact Tiranda Plummer on Facebook or Instagram.