The founder of this website, Ian, was born with a birth defect called Sacral Agenesis. As a cascading chain of events from that, he also has a neurogenic bladder, which has caused kidney disease, and a need for dialysis while waiting to be listed for a kidney transplant.
He has been with his wife since 1996, and between their families, they are no stranger to disabilities, congenital disorders, or serious illnesses. His mother was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when she was around 8 years old, and died at the very young age of 44 after a leg amputation and other complications. His wife, and co-founder, Suzy, her mother is a breast cancer survivor, her paternal grandmother, and aunt, are breast and reproductive cancer survivors, she has a cousin with down syndrome, another cousin that had Chiari Malformation discovered and treated as a child, and several family members with syndactyly.
Ian and Suzy have three children together, their oldest child had infantile spasms when she was around 6 months old, but luckily suffered no severe effects from the seizures, and has only some mild learning delays. Their two youngest, also have some mild learning delays, and one has ADHD. The youngest child has a peanut allergy, and ended up with MIS-C after having almost zero covid symptoms, but made a full recovery. The kids keep them on their toes!
The idea for Date Like Me was thought of when Ian joined kidney transplant support groups on social media. He started noticing people saying they wish there was some kind of dating site for people who are on dialysis, or needing a transplant. They commented it would be nice to meet someone who understands what they’re going through, and to be there for each other, aside from the support groups you find on social media.
Both Ian, and Suzy, wanted to create a safe place where people could feel comfortable dating. What that looks like for each individual might be different; if you’re on dialysis and would like to date someone going through the same thing, they hope this will be the place for you. If you’re on dialysis, but just want a safe place to find love whether or not they’re going through the same thing, they hope this will be the place for you, too. Welcome!