Stories of Hope
My real life hero
My real life hero is my mother because she not only raised me to be the man I am today, but she saved my life. I love her so much and I wouldn’t have the life that I do today had it not been for her caring and generous heart.
Above and Beyond Friendship
We spent over twenty years as friends, so I knew she was special, but this goes above and beyond friendship. She’s our angel, sent to teach me how to be strong before I ever knew why I would need it. I’m happy to report Addy and Natalie successfully went through transplant 10/10/18!! Both are doing exceptionally well and have inspired so many around them more than they may ever know! Natalie, you are amazing, and we love you so much!
Daughter Lives Normal Life Again
My daughter Sirii experienced pre-eclampsia with both of her pregnancies. Her one functional kidney she was born with dropped to less than 10% function after the second birth.
Miracles do happen
On July 18,2019 I received a heart and double lung transplant and it has been the best thing that has every happened to me. Also knowing that I was the first person to receive a heart and double lung transplant in San Diego in 2019.
4-Time Kidney Recipient Giving Back
I am a 4-time kidney transplant recipient who has been giving back ever since my first transplant. I was born in 1976 with kidney disease and my kidney function was only 10% for the first 10 years of my life. When I was 10 my health declined and it was decided I...
Jameson’s story: The transplant that came out of left field
Jason Finney watched his family open gifts together through FaceTime with his wife, Sarah, on Christmas Day in 2017. Jason traveled out of state the day prior to support his father who required breathing assistance from a ventilator at the time. “Um – Jameson just...
Solitary Kidney Siblings
Eight years ago, my brother Josh, who was 19 at the time, donated his kidney to my Dad at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. It was a miracle how well the transplant worked. My sister, Hannah, and I were so inspired by what we saw that we knew one day, we wanted to be...
My second heartbeat
Monique Acosta House was your typical college student 20 years ago with the daily schedule filled with work and classes. She began to notice that she was feeling more tired than usual and had left arm pain. Her friend suggested that she should get that checked out by...
My second chance, thanks to an organ donor!
I received a kidney on February 5, 2019 from a young deceased organ donor. My donor and their family has given a second chance at life to a daughter, granddaughter, niece, aunt, friend, wife and mother. Words can't even express the gratitude my family and I have for...
Never knew I was sick
I woke up one Sunday morning in March, 2017 with my left arm swollen. I thought it was my heart so I went to a local ER and was diagnosed with cirrhosis and told I would need a transplant in 1 1/2 -2 years. I asked for a referral to Ohio State , was admitted for 22...
I only had a 2% chance
A lot of times, when you hear the words heart failure, you think of the elderly. As a healthy 25 year old, never did I expect to hear those two words. And never did I ever expect to heart those two words while pregnant with my second. Peripartum Cardiomyopathy. After...
T1D free!
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1990 when I was 6 years old. I had for the most part taken very good care of myself, and I never let T1D hold me back. In 2016 I was told that my kidneys had begun to spill protein (proteinuria), but that they still were 100% functioning, that I did not have kidney disease, and that the kidneys could be saved with a pancreas- only transplant