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In 2005 I started dating the love of my life a few short months later I found out I needed to be on Kidney Dialysis and eventually a transplant to stay alive. At this time although devastated I told her my situation and that it was going to be a life long issue that she may want to separate as I did not feel it was fair to her. To her credit she stayed with me and in 2008 we married. I continued on dialysis then in 2010 we had our first child together, a happy healthy baby boy. Because of the act of a complete stranger I am here today and able to finally resume a normal life with my wife and son free from all lines, catheters and machines. Thanks to this person I have 24 days a year that I am not hooked up to a dialysis machine and away from my family. 24 days a year may not seem like that much but its nearly a month and when people are not up for the full 24 hours in a day that means dialysis patients miss on average an entire month or more every year with their friends and families.

I'm here due to the kindness of a complete stranger

The end of the school year in 1998 was approaching and so was the year end grade 8 class trip. What a trip it was. When I returned home after the week I was understandably exhausted. However I did not return to my normal self, my mom became increasingly worried and sent me for a doctors appointment, that is when I found out I had kidney disease. After 8 years of drug therapy and several surgeries things just continued to get worse to the point that I had to have Dialysis and eventually Transplant. After 6 and a half years of Dialysis and countless additional surgeries due to infections enough was enough. I had been on the Transplant list only about 6 months when the call woke my wife and I one morning. Laying on the stretcher being wheeled away from my wife that day was a very emotional time to say the least. The transplant was a huge success though and not a day goes by that my son, wife and I don't thank the heavens that there are people out there like my donor, they saved my life!