I had a normal childhood with my parents getting divorced when I was 12 years old. My first job was as a dishwasher at the age of 14. When I was 17, I got a job in an Archery shop where I actually had my own room and lived there for about 2 years. After that I worked in the concrete field for about 6 months and decided to join the Army.
I went into the communications field but got transferred into another unit where I went to Airborne and Ranger school. After 3 years I got out and started working as a Carpenter. While working I went back to college and received an associate’s degree in Electronics and Computer Networking. I worked in the IT field for 20 years going from one site to the next, working on all computer-related equipment.
In 2010, I had my first physical and they found blood in my urine, and I was diagnosed with Renal Thrombosis. Ather being put on blood thinners and other medication, I was fine until 2014 when I had some side effects from the medications I was on. I was working hard, and things were going fine until 2019 when I started retaining water. Prior to that, I weighed around 160 pounds and within a couple of months I got up to 190 pounds.
I needed to stop working because physically I could not. I spent years trying to reverse my kidney function with different medications and tweaking my diet. Unfortunately, I ended up having an operation to install a tube into my peritoneum to prepare for dialysis. I feel better since starting dialysis in November 2023, prior to that I felt like walking death due to all the toxins in my body not being filtered out by my kidneys.
I do an exchange 4 times a day and it takes me about 30 minutes to do. I wish I could go back to work but since I have to be in a clean environment to do the exchanges, I will not be able to do the work that I have done for the last 25 years of my career.
A living donor transplant will give me the best chance of a longer and fuller life to continue doing the things I enjoy. I like going for walks in nature, the sport of archery, going fishing and attending my church and the fellowship of others. I also like working with my hands fixing things around the house or on my car.
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 Michael’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