February 2025

In 2005, my father was told he needed to start thinking about a kidney transplant or dialysis. By December of that year, I had the honor of giving my father a kidney. My father lived with his new kidney for 12 years until 2017. He always wanted to become a donor and after his death, he was able to be a cornea donor. My most recent personal connection with donation was in 2015, after a house fire left me with burns on 34% of my body. During my first few days in the ICU, I underwent several skin graft surgeries. Those early skin grafts saved not only my leg, but possibly my life.