Josh Paxton, Kidney Recipient

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My story begins … on my birthday. Like my older brother Chris I was born with Familial Nephritis or Alports Syndrome. Alports is a genetic kidney disease that results in a protective layer around the filters in your kidneys not being made. Along with other side effects like, hearing problems, eye sight and sometimes stunted growth, Alports results in the filters in your kidneys slowly degrading as they filter the toxins out of your blood. While timing varies kidney failure is the inevitable result.

Our parents discovered that we had this condition at a young age. We bounced from doctor to doctor while growing up and ultimately landed with the nephrologists at St. Luke’s transplant clinic. My health progressed rather normally until my Senior year of high school. In my senior year I was finally diagnosed with end stage renal disease and the process of finding someone to donate a kidney to me began. At this point I was blessed, a donor was found in my Aunt Pam. Pam was a good match, our blood types were compatible and we matched on 5 out of 6 tissue types. During the last part of my senior year I grew increasingly weak as the toxins that my body was not filtering out increased in my system. I was on a lot of medication, gave myself epogen shots three times a week and would routinely fall asleep on my homework. I continued to struggle through school ultimately graduated and then on June 8 of 1998 my Aunt donated a kidney to me. The difference was immediately apparent, I had energy and was ready to take on the world.

This transplant allowed me to begin college, make new friends and start on a path to a good and healthy life. Unfortunately, it would not last long. In December of 1998, just 6 short months after the transplant, I learned that my body was rejecting the kidney. Rejection is always a concern because your own body might recognize the organ as foreign tissue and begin to attack it. Rejections can be either really fast or slow and gradual. In my case it was slow and gradual. So slow in fact that the doctors were mystified as to why they couldn’t turn it around. Ultimately, almost one year to the day that I had my transplant I went on dialysis. Dialysis for me was accompanied by several complications, eventually I also had to have my Omendum (layer of fat around your intestines) and my appendix removed. However, dialysis did allow me to return to school.

While I was at school I became involved with a campus Christian group and started going church regularly. The pastor of the church knew about what was happening and had included it in the prayer bulletin. One day, after church a woman in congregation came up to me along with her husband and out of the blue asked, “How do I get tested to donate a kidney to you?” After the usual jaw-picking-up-off-the-floor reaction, I realized that she was serious. We pursued this with my transplant clinic and after some initial hesitation, they agreed to test her. Joy (appropriately named) was tested and eventually donated a kidney to me on June 13 of 2000. That kidney is still going strong 17 years later. As to the quality of life one can have after an organ transplant here is a partial list of the things I have accomplished in the past 17 years:

• Graduated from College
• Graduated from Seminary with a Masters
• Married
• Had three children
• Traveled to:
  • Italy
  • Poland
  • Canada
  • Greece
  • Alaska
• Currently Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies

A long full life is possible through organ donation. Share your life, share your decision.