I was diagnosed with IGA nephropathy in June 2010 and went on dialysis right after. My best friend growing up, Daniel, gave me his kidney in February 2012 and everything was going well until about 3 plus years ago when I got pancreatitis. My transplanted kidney slowly declined after that and eventually I was diagnosed with Type 3c diabetes. I am hoping to get a pancreas transplant after I receive a new kidney, so I won’t be diabetic anymore. I restarted dialysis in February 2024 and am back on the transplant list.
I am 42 years old and married to my beautiful wife, Maria. We have three wonderful children (Page, Erin, and Natalie), one granddaughter named Naomi, and another grandbaby due in early September. Maria and I have been married for over ten years, and she is the love of my life. Maria is a design engineer and loves her job.
Page, my stepdaughter is married to her husband, Brooks, and they have been married for 7 plus years. Erin, my stepson, has been married to his wife, Mikayla for over three years and they have one daughter, Naomi, and are expecting another child this fall. I learned when I married Maria that the word, “step”, goes out the window when it comes to raising kids. My youngest child is Natalie, and she is graduating from high school this year. Her plans are to go into fostering young children and maybe do missionary work. I love to spend time with my family, hiking, wood working, spreading the gospel.
After my life after the military, I received my engineering degree in electronics and went into working on copier machines for about ten years before I got sick again. When I am able to start working again, I would like to go back to school to pursue my nursing degree and hope to work in a dialysis unit. I want to give back because of what the doctors and nurses have done for me. This will be my dream job because I love to help people and care for them. Most importantly, I am a devoted Christian and a firm believer in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without him, nothing would be possible. No matter what I am going through, I know God has my back.
For medically cleared donors, giving the gift of life through living kidney donation has been proven to be very safe. DOVE will assist all prospective donors throughout the process and make sure they do not incur any out-of-pocket expenses related to the evaluation or surgery. A healthy person can live a normal life with one kidney and save Dean’s life with the other!
Your support, whether through spreading the word on social media or considering becoming a donor, can make a profound impact on his life and the life of his family!
Please click on the link below if you would like to learn more OR call (551) 233-1611