Join Gary’s kidney transplant journey

This is Gary! At first glance, he looks just like anyone else, works just like anyone else, and plays with his kids just like anyone else. He shops for groceries and supports his family just like anyone else. What you don’t see is what lies below the surface. Gary has fought for his health and life multiple times in his 37 years of life. At 21, Gary had to come face to face with congestive heart failure. This would be the first time his life would hang in the balance, and with help from his doctors, he was able to fight back and live a pretty normal life with a low sodium diet. His next surgery would be his total left hip replacement. I’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t pretty. The amount of pain he endured trying to regain some mobility was pretty extreme. But just like before, he fought through it, and you wouldn’t even know he’s part metal! He’s had his gallbladder removed and a slipped disc repaired.

Then came along COVID. COVID came like a thief in the night, like it did for many of you. I honestly have never been so scared in my life because I’ve seen the healthiest people I know lose their battle against COVID. So what did this mean for Gary? He was in the ICU for 3 months, once again fighting for his life. Because of his heart, the doctors didn’t have high hopes. Things looked as bleak as they could. Nurses had seen many in his condition never leave the hospital alive. But to everyone’s surprise! Ding ding ding! Gary won the first round of COVID! He did get it a few times after that, but it wasn’t as severe.

Now comes why you all are here. Through all those twists and turns of life, one thing we didn’t see coming was kidney failure. Gary was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease when he was younger, but it was never a great deal of concern since his blood work always came back in the green. COVID left its mark and started their decline. True to form, Gary has fought back by sticking to a very strict diet, seeing his doctors, and keeping a positive attitude! But unfortunately, nothing can turn back the clock on his kidneys.

This is a fight he can’t fight alone. His kidney function as we speak is 10%, and hopefully, it doesn’t go lower. About a year ago, he joined a transplant list. We’re happy to announce we did find a match! Surprise! It’s me! Gary and I matched! To make an even longer story short, we entered a paired exchange program, and my kidney will be going to someone who needs it, and Gary will be getting a kidney from someone else. Even though we matched, my kidney was far too small. Our surgery date is May 29th in Salt Lake City, Utah, an 8-hour drive away from home.

My recovery time is estimated to be 6-8 weeks. I should be able to come back home after 5 days (fingers crossed). Gary’s recovery is estimated at 3-4 months, having to stay in Utah for a majority of that time to make sure he doesn’t reject the kidney he’ll be receiving.

With both Gary and I being down for the count, we are humbly asking for your help. I’m a ball of nerves thinking of this surgery and our future, and I’m hoping and praying our kids won’t have to pay the price of mom and dad both recovering from surgery.

If you made it this far, thank you for hearing our story! I will keep updating this account on the progress of our surgery and recovery!

Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.