Back in 2020, I went in for routine lab work and a general check up just to keep my health insurance premium as affordable as possible.

I wasn't in pain, and I didn't feel sick. I felt perfectly fine.

I thought: I am healthy.

But a single phone call changed everything.

I was told I had FSGS (Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis), a rare disease that attacks the kidney's filtering units. It was a silent intruder that had been there all along.

After receiving a second opinion, I was given the same results I received before, as well as a biopsy of my kidneys.

It was 100% confirmed: stage 4/5 kidney disease

That is when I realized, not "if", but "when" - receiving an organ transplant. 

Fast forward to today, and I’m at stage 5 kidney failure, also known as end stage renal disease. Meaning, my kidneys are no longer doing the job they were meant to do: filtering toxins out of my bloodstream. 

Every day is a battle with fatigue. It’s like trying to run a marathon while breathing through a straw. 

However, I continue to fight tooth and nail. 

I have so much more life I want to live with my wife and our two beautiful girls, Audrey and Clare.

My kidneys are semi-stable and functioning at a range of 9-13%. 

I am not on dialysis... yet.

We are trying like crazy to avoid that, but it could change any day. 

It just depends on how much longer my factory kidneys are going to hold up!

That's where a living donor comes into play:

-The average wait for a deceased donor kidney can be 3-5 years. Time many of us simply don't have
- A living donor changes the math
- One person has the power to literally give someone their life back
- You don’t have to be a superhero to save a life; you just have to be willing to share what you have two of

As a living donor, you 100% do not have to be an exact match to donate a kidney to someone you know.

If you and I aren't a compatible match, but I match with someone else's living donor across the country and you match with their organ recipient, we can do an organ swap then and the donor can actually help save two lives! That's a BOGO that benefits everyone!

I am spreading awareness for this search to help extend my life and for me to be the provider to my family and to be the strong, resilient father to my children as well as being there for my wife. Her and I are stronger together and I will fight till the end of time to maintain that connection with our family.

Thank you for supporting this cause that means so much to me.