April is Donate Life Month, a national celebration of the lifesaving and changing impacts of organ, eye and tissue donation. Currently, more than 100,000 American men, women, and children are waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. To kick off our #DonateLife celebrations this month we are honored to share Roger's story:
For years, Roger lived on a steady diet of cigarettes, alcohol and caffeine pills. On top of that, he never saw a doctor, despite a family history of high blood pressure and diabetes. However, in 2019, his bad habits caught up to him. “All of a sudden, it got to the point where I couldn’t lie down comfortably,” he said. “I’d lose my breath, and it got so overwhelming, it scared me.”
After many nights like this, Roger drove himself to emergency care and described the symptoms. His blood pressure was so high that the clinicians wanted to admit him to the hospital immediately, but Roger initially refused treatment. He walked out and called a friend who told him that he would have to deal with this now or deal with it later. “Had I not been admitted that night, God knows what would have happened,” he said. It turns out that Roger was suffering from congestive heart failure and chronic kidney disease.
For two years after that stay in the hospital, Roger was on dialysis three days a week. His medical team nursed him back to health, and he felt that things were under control. Eventually, he was trained to administer peritoneal dialysis (PD) treatments on himself at home. PD treatments are done more frequently than the more common hemodialysis, so waste and toxins don't build up as much in the blood between treatments. “It would run every night, eight to nine hours a night,” he said. “I was reluctant at first, but it was the best process for me. I felt fine by the time I got to work.”
Roger’s nephrologist hoped his kidneys would return to a healthier state over time, but that unfortunately did not occur. By this time, Roger had moved from Maryville to Knoxville and transferred his treatment plan to UT Medical Center. In March 2023, Roger learned that he was healthy enough to undergo kidney transplant surgery. “At that point, I became fully engulfed in the experience at the transplant center,“ he said. “I got a chance to see what I was a part of, and I had their full attention.”
Roger got the call he was waiting for just seven months later. “Everything came to a halt,” he said. “You hope the call is coming - you’re praying for it - and then it blew me away because it came so soon. They said, ‘Roger, we think we have a donor,’ and I just stared at the phone.” Roger’s surgery was scheduled for noon the next day. The kidney came from a deceased organ donor in New York and was tested to make sure it was a match. “It seemed like the staff was just as excited as I was,” Roger said. “There were balloons and cards. It was like a celebration. It was over before I knew it. No fear, no anxiety, no pain.”
Now, six months later, “I am reminded what my life was like then and what it’s like now,” Roger said “I had such limitations before with dialysis. I could barely get out the front door or to the refrigerator. I had all that time on the machine, and I had a tube in me. It’s like being liberated.”
Roger’s recovery is going well, and he still visits his care team monthly to make sure that his body is adjusting to the kidney and that it’s functioning properly. “Dr. Oscar Grandas and Dr. Wala Abusalah are amazing,” he said. “But most importantly, it’s the care across the board. Kudos to the entire staff of the transplant center and everyone I’ve encountered at UT Medical Center. They’re all so dedicated. They come to work every day so that I - and people like me - might live.”
Thank you for sharing your story, Roger - we're so glad you are doing better and enjoying a healthier life! To learn more about our transplant services at UT Medical Center please visit the Center For Transplant Services.