Please read this if you think saving human lives is an important issue. My name is Christopher Pugh and I am a 41 year old artist, who was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Kidney Disease in October, 2011; approximately 1 week after I married the love of my life, Colleen. Basically, that means that I do not have any kidney function. I believe that we met for a reason, as we all travel down the road of life; some people come into our lives at just the right time. I was lucky enough to find my soul mate in Colleen, wonderful woman and my best friend, who is by my side for life. She stands with me through thick and thin, in sickness and in health, come hell or high water - you get the picture. She inspires me to keep going, she is there to pick me up when I am low and encourage me to have faith, courage & hope. We are all here for a reason, a purpose. Some of us are here to build things, others are here to have families, and others are here to save lives. I recently read that there are over 122,000 people waiting for organ transplants, and that’s just in the United States. Out of that number, over 100,000 people are waiting for a kidney. You would think that with numbers so high, that a person like me has a better chance of getting struck by lightning, or winning the Powerball Jackpot than to get a kidney in the near future. I have learned much patience and in having much faith in the good will of others. I have learned to hope that one day I will find that one special person who is selfless and for no reason other than wanting to save another person’s life is a blood match (B or O) and who is healthy enough and giving enough to save my life by giving of themselves to save a complete strangers life. When I was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Kidney Disease, the doctors who attended to me could not determine the cause; I am not a diabetic and showed no other signs which made any sense. I continued to visit with my dialysis team for regular labs, but still got no answers. Finally, in May of 2013, while visiting with my cardiologist, I learned that I was born with a rare disease called Fabry Disease (fabrydisease.org/), which is a genetic disorder preventing the body to create a certain enzyme which prevents fatty lipids from building up on a body’s organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys. Without treatment, a male with Fabry Disease does not live much longer than 45 yrs. I was adopted at birth and had no health records from my original birth parents, so I went untreated for this disease for the majority of my life. I am lucky that I was diagnosed and am presently receiving enzyme replacement therapy at Duke Medical Center; the same hospital where I am listed on the National Kidney Registry. I am also working to get listed with UNC to better increase my odds. I have had several individuals who were kind enough to come forward and offer to donate their kidney to me, but for one reason or another, they were disqualified. But with all the trials and tribulations in my life, I still hang onto hope that one day I will get a call from the hospital with a special person who is willing to come forward and donate a part of themselves to save a life. Because I am currently receiving treatment for Fabry Disease, this is not a factor which would risk my chances for a successful Kidney Donation; in fact it would greatly improve my chance of survival. So, I am reaching out to ask YOU for something that only a special individual could provide to me… a living kidney donor with type B or O blood and in good health to contact Duke Medical Centers Living Donor Coordinator on my behalf at 919-613-7777 (option 2). You will have to answer some basic health questions and they will guide you through the rest. For more information, please visit (dukemedicine.org/treatments/transplant-program/kidney-transplant). One more thing... since there are more than one Christopher Pughs out there who are in need of a kidney, please let them know my birthday is June 22nd. Thank you for reading this, please consider donating a kidney… you could be a real hero to someone who needs their life saved. Thank you for taking the time to consider this, saving lives is an important issue, isnt it?
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 01:50:03 +0000
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