I am D. Carol Brown. I am writing on behalf of my husband who is in need of a kidney transplant. He is 0+ and is in pretty good health.

My husband is Reynaldo brown, Sr. – a husband, father, grandfather, great-grand father, Olympian, and a dialysis patient. He is the second oldest of ten children (two deceased). We have been married 40 years wonderful years. I am my husband’s Caregiver and have been forever. Never complaining about anything. I am with my husband 24/7, even sitting with him in dialysis three days a week, three hours and forty-five minutes each day. My husband has always remained patient, obedient, and a role model all throughout the years. He was so obedient that it surely had a lot to do with him becoming the first high schooler to jump seven feet, and as a junior in high school.

Being obedience has allowed me to participate in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Mexico as the youngest member of the Men’s Athletic Track and Field Team at the age of seventeen. Not only was I able to compete, travel around the world several times, but I had to return to my high school and finish the twelfth grade. Then participated as an Alternate in the 1972 Munich, Germany Olympics So, my husband’s obedience throughout his life, he says, has given him an advantage in dealing with Kidney Failure.

So, him being diagnosed with Kidney Failure in November 2004, and asked was he devastated? “Not really”, he says. He seems to have always had a way of dealing with troubling news, traumatizing or not. After all, he was a high jumper. He was on dialysis from 2004 to 2006; then God gave us a glorious, wonderous eight-year ride free of dialysis, no more needles, blood draws, three day a week visits to hemodialysis clinics, all because the kidneys began working full time. Then 2014 to 2016, back on dialysis due to traveling to two family reunions in Cleveland, Ohio and Chicago, IL, driving to and from, hot weather, not making enough stops, and dehydration comes along. So back on dialysis he goes. As I too am 0+, I offered to donate one of my kidneys to my husband. I approached one of the nephrologists in the clinic and asked her about the procedure. She asked how old I was, and immediately said I was too old. Really!! I actually found out years later that I was not too old. Wow!! What a wonderful, missed opportunity.

Rey was put on Loma Linda’s Transplant List and again, my obedience and patience paid off. Rey and I were leaving dialysis one day and received a call. We were asked, “where are you”? We replied, “On our way home”. The caller asked, “How far are you”? We responded, “About 20 minutes away”. The caller instructed us to return to the hospital because a kidney is coming in and wants us to go to the lobby and wait for further instructions. We were ecstatic. Didn’t know whether to cry, shout, yell, whatever. We called one daughter who alerted our other children. We’re in the lobby and get another call. The caller said, “Mrs. Brown”? I’m so sorry, But the doctor says this kidney is not right for Mr. Brown. Wow!! We weren’t exactly sure how to act. Should we be relieved, we just didn’t know. Then a few weeks later we got a call one evening around 6pm telling us there was a kidney coming in and we would probably need to get to the hospital the next morning around 4am. She will call to let us know. Well, we actually got the call at 4am, got to the hospital around 4:45am, sat in lobby for 15-20 minutes, then was escorted to the designated floor. Every doctor, nurse, NP, etc., came to Rey’s bedside. The care and preparation were exciting. Then it was time. I was able to go with him upstairs until they rolled him into the operating room. Rey received his Transplanted Kidney on December 7, 2016. God is wonderful. No complications at all. He was just hungry.

Now fast forward to May 2022, Rey began to swell something terrible. We are in and out of urgent care, then Rey is hospitalized which he remained from December 2022 to January 2023, now back on dialysis. As of December 7, 2023, the kidney functioned for seven years. One of Nephrologists said, playfully, said the kidney did not fail, Rey actually wore the kidney out being so active.

Reynaldo (Rey) also continues to remain active, continuing to do the things he loves and enjoys, especially volunteering with the youth. He is a high school coach, coaching the High Jump, he is a motivational speaker, plays basketball at the Loma Linda Drayson Center, Volunteers with the Special Olympics, LA84, Angel City, PAL, Ready, Set, Goal, participates in track and field clinics throughout northern and southern California or wherever needed, the Boy Scouts, and more.

Rey is currently on the Transplant List at the Loma Linda Medical Center in Loma Linda, CA and just finished the workup at the Mayo Clinic Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ with their Transplant Team and staff from February 21-23, 2024, to be added to their Transplant List. We attended all the scheduled appointments, interviews, lab and stress tests, and all other tests needed to get approved to be added to their Transplant List. The Transplant Team and their staff were so warm, inviting, and professional. Their attitudes were all extremely positive and reassuring that my husband would have nothing to worry about due to the outcome of all his tests. Only the good Lord knows. We shall see.

When we got to the Mayo Clinic in February 2024, we were told that our lodging, food, and transportation would be our responsibility. So, that means once a kidney becomes available, we first have 8-10 hours to get to Phoenix, AZ. We drove there last month, so we will hopefully drive again. Miss that time window, you miss the chance of getting that kidney. Not only is there a time frame to get there, but it is also mandatory that we remain in Phoenix, near the hospital (possibly at one of the hotels on The Mayo Clinic Campus or no more than 15-30 minutes away) for the entire six weeks. We were also informed that the Hospital nor insurance company will pay for any lodging, transportation, or food.

Some family members and friends have graciously helped us as much as they can. Some have even given their last. Therefore, as we are approximately 357 miles from the Mayo Clinic, a 4 ½ to 5 ½ hour drive, being approved to create a GoFundMe, would enable us to stay, pay for our hotel for the entire six-week duration, possibly in a nearby hotel that’s partnered with the Mayo Clinic, allowing us to be readily available for all Rey’s follow up appointments and visits. It would also help with the gas needed to get there and back, and lastly for our food.

We greatly appreciate the opportunity.

Sincerely,

Reynaldo Brown, OLY and D. Carol Brown, Spouse