I started avid long-distance running back in 2011. I was always athletic growing up, but I had largely stopped exercising while I was in medical school. I finally reconnected with my first love, running, with my first half marathon in April 2011. I was hooked! I went on to run 117 half marathons (in all … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Amy!
My name is Clinton, I am about to turn 35, and I live in the Kansas City area. I am a self-employed Master Electrician, who enjoys my work, but defines myself by what I do when I'm not working. Most of my life’s most memorable moments have been made outdoors on some sort of … Continue reading Meet (Future) Kidney Donor Athlete, Clinton!
At age 44, a friend challenged me to train for a marathon. I was an occasional runner at best and an out-of-shape husband and father of two little ones. I accepted and ran/walked the 2005 Twin Cities Marathon in 4:18. “Never again,“ I said. That sucked. Completely absorbed by our careers, and growing family, my … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Skip!
My name is Greg. My wife and I live in Bend, Oregon for nearly 28 years now. I grew up in Lewiston, Idaho. Was never really athletic although I took part in some sports on a very low level. Never really good at anything sports related. I was always interested, as a skinny young guy, … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Greg!
A Canadian marathoner and a Texan cowboy walk into a bar. Nope. There’s nowhere easy to start this story, so let’s just start at the beginning. Some of my favourite early memories are running on a sun-dappled trail in Northern Ontario, dodging roots and rocks, little arms pumping and skinned knees straining to keep pace. … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Lynn!
My oldest sister went into kidney failure due to medications she was taking to control her blood pressure. After being on dialysis for years they decided that she would need a transplant. She was scared to ask me to even check to see if I could be a donor but of course, I didn’t even … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Tamara!
(This is Bobby's third installment here on Kidney Donor Athletes. If you haven't read the first two, click here!) Game time! Seems like I was on the bench forever. It seemed an eternity before it was going to be my turn to get called into the game. The build-up seemed like it would never end. … Continue reading It Is Official – Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Bobby!
Last week I was having snacks and a bourbon on the rocks with a couple of friends while in Madison for work. I was catching up with them when we got on the topic of my kidney donation and the subsequent birth of Kidney Donor Athletes. And then the question came. 'Why didn't you just … Continue reading “Why Didn’t You Just Donate Your Kidney and be Done With It? Why Keep Talking About It?” – I’ll tell you why.
I own a CrossFit gym in Beaverton, Oregon and on August 1, 2018, I donated my left kidney to one of my athlete’s 12-year-old son. Neil, the father of my recipient, Bransen (12 years old), aka Boom, has been a member of my CrossFit gym for 6 years. In March of this year, Neil came … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Melissa!
My mom became sick in the spring of 2015. Although it is still difficult to say what exactly caused her kidneys to fail, she had the perfect storm of events occur to cause her to become septic in the ICU and in end-stage renal failure. Once my mom started doing better that summer, my triplet … Continue reading Meet Kidney Donor Athlete, Mimi!
