Cris' Kidney Transplant Journey

17/02/2023

Today we have officially hit the 3 month kidneyversary! I urge you to see if you can donate life. People die everyday waiting for a transplant. Can you ??

05/02/2023

Hey Friends! Meet Hanadi! A beautiful young teacher right here in Broward. Hanadi also has chronic kidney disease and her best bet is to find a living donor as soon as possible. Please see the information below on how to get tested to see if you're a match. Unable to get tested? Follow her page and share please!

07/01/2023

Please share this young man. Maybe someone here can help him to find a match.

This is my friend, George (Alex) Alexander Reed (dob 2/1/1990). He is seeking a Kidney Transplant.

Alex was originally diagnosed with Kidney Failure on June 2013 just a few weeks after graduating from Penn State, at the age of 22. He was then placed on on home hemo dialysis from December 1, 2013 until November 9, 2015. He received his first transplant 7 years ago on November 9, 2015 when he was 25. That Kidney is now failing.

Alex is a Blood Type A, which means he can receive, so for direct donation purposes, he can receive can a kidney from blood types A and O, however, his transplant center recognizes Paired Donation (donor swap), so anyone can donate on his behalf.

Alex is currently listed at UPMC Starzl Transplantation Institute, UPMC Transplant Services Montefiore, 7 South, 3459 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2536. Main phone number: 412-647-5800.

His Transplant Coordinator there is G. Seth Cress, Certified Clinical Transplant Coordinator II, Kidney Transplant Waitlist Coordinator, c/o Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, UPMC Montefiore Hospital, LKB, Suite 300, 3459 Fifth Avenue,Pittsburgh, PA 15213,
Ph # 412-647-5558, Fax: 412-647-0362.
You can also sign up to donate online at livingdonorreg.upmc.com.
Please share this page for Alex, a Penn State Altoona grad & former Nittany Lions baseball player('13), who just wants to improve his quality of life by going back to enjoying friends, family, and sports (baseball). Due to the failure of his transplanted kidney, he has no energy, feels sick, and is missing out on all opportunities to socialize. He wants to travel and also contribute back through working at his family owned insurance agency.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088915542672&mibextid=ZbWKwL

21/11/2022

We are home! Cris is Transplant Tough! 1 year ago today we met with Cleveland Clinic Transplant Team to get Cris listed. In February of this year he was listed. Truly thankful for his living donor, Jodee who saved his life by donating her kidney. If you are able to be a living donor for someone please do so!

18/11/2022

Cris is doing well. In some pain and discomfort but the surgeons are very happy with progress. His creatinine is already going down and GFR going up. Kidney Function is doing wonderful. There is a good chance if this continues they will send him home tomorrow.

Please keep his donor Jodee in your prayers.

17/11/2022

For those who follow this page but not my personal fb...

Cris met his donor for the first time this morning. Jodee is currently in surgery and cris should go in around 3 pm. Please keep them both in your thoughts and prayers as well as the surgeons, nurses and entire medical team.

05/11/2022

4 days til pre-op
14 days til a new kidney

03/11/2022

Former New York Mets catcher, Ed Hearn, is seeking a 3rd kidney transplant, which must come from a living donor. Diagnosed at a young age with FSGS, the disease ended his career at age 31. Hearn, age 62 and a member of the 1986 World Series Championship Team, works now as a keynote inspirational speaker, author, and founder of “The Bottom of the Ninth- Where Character Counts” a not-for-profit organization. When he speaks about significant success and victory when facing today’s unending curves and change, he speaks from real life experience and leaves audiences remembering him not so much as an athlete, but more as a man who has had a lasting impact on their lives. We wish him success in his journey. 💚⚾️

26/10/2022

24/10/2022

My pregnancy was completely normal until my 38th week when my doctor found I had no amniotic fluid. They sent me straight to the hospital, and doctors could tell there was something wrong with the baby’s kidneys. Our son, William, was born the next day and was immediately whisked off to the NICU. Within a few hours, the nephrologist and the NICU physician came to my room and said, “We think your baby has a condition called ARPKD.”

We’d never heard of ARPKD, so they had to explain it to us. They said that they would do everything they could for William, and it was up to him how much fight he had in him. We brought him home after about a month, but his kidneys were so enlarged, that he struggled to eat and even breathe. So doctors took out one of his kidneys when he was 4 months old. Unfortunately, he came down with an infection four months after that, so his remaining kidney had to be removed as well.

We spent Christmas learning how to perform daily peritoneal dialysis. We all went through testing, and my husband, Matthew, was a nearly perfect match. After several screenings an imaging test showed that Matthew had extra arteries leading to his kidneys and William’s little body would be unable to handle them. We were heartbroken. William was put on the transplant list, and he received a kidney one week after his second birthday.

The kidney transplant made a huge difference for all of us. No more dialysis and he finally had an appetite. Doctors have assured us that if William needs another kidney when he’s older, Matt can be his donor. Today, William is an energetic 12-year old boy who’s into cars and trucks and roughhousing. He’s also an avid reader. William has to take a half-dozen pills every day, but that doesn’t stop him from hamming it up or singing at the top of his lungs when a song he loves comes on the radio.

❇️❇️❇️

Thank you, Carolyn , for sharing your ARPKD story and joining the fight to . https://connect.pkdcure.org/voices-of-pkd/