I was in the US Army from October 1988 until February 1992. I attended basic and AIT at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO as a 12B (Combat Engineer) before being assigned to my permanent duty station with the 54th Engineer Battalion in Wildflecken, West Germany. During my time in Germany, my squad (A Co, 54th Eng Btn) was the first to receive the Distinguished Small Unit Award. We were deployed to Kuwait in January 1991 in support of 3rd Armored Division Units in Operation Desert Storm which makes me a combat veteran.
I wanted to reenlist, but as a different MOS, and was told there were no allocations, so I received an “early-out” and separated in West Germany where I went on to work as a civilian for the DoD. The thing I enjoyed most about serving in the military was the schedule and discipline that came with it.
After returning to the USA in Jan 1996, I worked on finishing my degree and started at Fidelity Investments as a Business Analyst. By the time I left in 2005, I was an Implementation Developer/Programmer, and I am still doing the same work to this day.
The greatest satisfaction I get from my work is solving problems and coming up with new ways to do things more efficiently.
I was diagnosed with IgA Neuropathy at the age of 13, so it has taken 47 years for my kidneys to finally say “Mo more”. The sad thing is that people who get IgA Neuropathy these days can be treated. But like many things, my disease was too fully progressed to get any benefit from the new treatments.
I am currently on Peritoneal Dialysis, which I started in May 2024. I am currently on the waitlist at OSU Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. I am also listed on the waitlist at VA Pittsburgh Transplant Center. My physical limitations are more from lack of energy and stamina at this point.
My wife is from South Africa, and her name is Lani. We have no children – unless you count 3 cats! My wife and I love to travel whenever we can but being on Dialysis and having some physical limitations due to it, have kept us from traveling like we want. I actually have Permanent Residency status in South Africa, but we have been unable to travel back there since 2021.
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 David’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