A woman from Chicago's south suburbs, who is fighting for her life as she recovers from a kidney transplant, is trapped in Jamaica and has run out of critical medicine, after Hurricane Melissa ravaged the island in the Caribbean.

Community leaders in the Chicago area were racing to get 58-year-old Trinette Britt-Johnson the help she needs, and hoping to get her home soon.

Cook County leaders pleaded with the federal government to help one of their own who is stranded in Jamaica without life-saving medication.

Cook County Commissioner Dr. Kisha McCaskill (D-5th District) said time is critical to get Britt-Johnson flown back to the United States.

"It is absolutely a life-or-death situation. We are in a crisis," she said. "At this point, she has been without her medication for approximately 40 hours, and if she does not get this life treatment … we're at risk of not having Trinette."

In 2024, Britt-Johnson received a kidney transplant, after being diagnosed with a rare kidney disease years earlier.

Two months ago, she was given clearance to travel, and she and her husband decided to go to Montego Bay, Jamaica.

She is now stuck there after Hurricane Melissa hit, and has been left without critical medicine that supports kidney function.

Britt-Johnson is chief of staff to Rich Township Supervisor Calvin Jordan. He's one of the first people she called.

"She was technically trying to get out of their Saturday," Jordan said. "When I talked to her over the weekend, I said, 'I just want you to enjoy.' First we texted, and then she called, and she says 'Yeah, I want to enjoy, but I need to get off this island now.'"

Jackie Lynch, former administrator of the Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network, explained what likely will happen to Britt-Johnson if she goes without her medicine after 48 hours.

"I know how this deteriorates in a rapid way," he said. "There's a very strong chance that the heart will begin to beat harder, trying to compensate; that her urination will slow down, and then the fluid will build up in the body, in the extremes, in the legs, in the arms."

McCaskill said it's an urgent situation, and she's calling on President Trump to step in.

"My appeal has been directly to Donald Trump; to President Trump. This is not a Democratic or Republican situation. We're talking about a young African American woman," she said.

Cook County officials said the U.S. State Department is aware of the situation.

Medical experts said Jamaican hospitals rarely perform these types of transplants, making it difficult for patients like Britt-Johnson, to access the medication she needs. Officials said she's been to three Jamaican hospitals already in hopes of finding the medication, but none had it.