Stories of hope

January 11, 2002
I have to say what a beautiful day that this is. I write this on my 28th birthday. March 6, 2002 will be my second year anniversary from my Kidney Transplant.

On March 6, 2000 at 7:30am I received a call, a call that anyone has received would probably tell you not only changed their life but also the lives of those around them. It did mine. It was very surreal, my alarm clock went off the same time the phone rang. I was supposed to fill out paperwork for my new job that day but things were meant for me to do something else that Monday. It was the day I would receive my Kidney Transplant.

It was only about a month to a month and a half after I was officially on the Transplant waiting list. When you need a transplant there is a clinic you must attend which helps prepare you for the ordeal that you endure. At that clinic, I asked my Transplant coordinator what a typical wait was, she informed me anywhere from 1 to 2 years with a very short wait being 6 months. I was very much caught off guard.

After the few necessary hours it took to make sure that it would be a proper match I started my trek to the Ohio State University Hospital. My check-in was at 1:30 and was taken to my room somewhat promptly where it all started. There were tests done such as blood work, vital signs etc. I do not know if it was because everything was happening so fast, or because the doctor was in a hurry, but when my wife Torre asked the doctor why this Kidney was to be mine I really didn’t understand him.

The doctor sensed I did not understand him and he clarified what he was telling me in the hall before the operating room. He was explaining that the Kidney was a perfect match that I was receiving – that it was an equivalent from a twin brother or sister. A better match than my mother or father or either of my brothers could give me and this was from a total stranger.

There is no word that can be said or no gesture made that can show my appreciation for the decision that a family had made for me. I am sitting at the desk in my office where I am a Financial Representative. I did fill out the paperwork that I was supposed to the day I received my phone call. After completing my first calendar year I achieved the New Financial Representative of the Year for my firm.

I am now living a wonderful life with my wonderful wife Torre, our beautiful daughter, Marin, and our two dogs. Thank you to the family who made the decision to help me and others live a happy healthy life for long to come.