In 2020, I went in for routine lab work—just trying to keep my health insurance premiums affordable. I felt perfectly fine. No pain. No symptoms. No warning signs. Then a single phone call changed everything. I was diagnosed with FSGS (Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis), a rare disease that silently attacks the kidney’s filtering units. After a second opinion and a kidney biopsy confirmed the same results, the diagnosis became undeniable: Stage 4/5 kidney disease. It wasn’t a matter of if I would need a transplant—it was when.
Today, I am at Stage 5. My kidneys are functioning at just 9–13%, and while I am not on dialysis yet, that could change at any time. Every day feels like running a marathon while breathing through a straw, but I am fighting with everything I have because I want more life with my wife and our two beautiful daughters, Audrey and Clare. The average wait for a deceased donor kidney is 3–5 years—time many of us simply don’t have. A living donor changes that reality.
You don’t have to be a perfect match to help; paired exchanges allow donors to “swap” kidneys so that multiple lives can be saved. One willing person has the power to give someone their life back. I am sharing my story to raise awareness in hopes of finding a living donor—so I can continue providing for my family, standing strong for my girls, and living the life my wife and I are determined to build together.
Donation Contacts
UT Medical Center Knoxville: Living Donor Coordinator
Email: mailto:LivingDonor@utmck.edu
Phone: 865-305-5340
The University of Tennessee Medical Center — Living Donor Program
Vanderbilt Medical Center
Phone: (615) 936-0695
Vanderbilt University Medical Center Living Donor Intake
