“Every time you go away, you take a piece of me with you…” — these are the lyrics to a song that my daughter, Annette and I used to laugh at when it was popular in the nineties. Now, we laugh at it for its literal meaning, because, in August, 2009, she gave me the best birthday present I ever got – her healthy right kidney. For several years, my kidney failure from Type 1 diabetes had been slowly worsening. I was exhausted all the time and could not perform well at my job. My doctor said I would need to go on dialysis very soon. I was really dismayed at this prospect, because I know that the survival statistics on dialysis for people whose kidney failure is due to diabetes are not very good.

Annette volunteered to be a donor as soon as we realized she was the right blood type. We went through a fair bit of hassle getting everything set up, but she persisted in encouraging me and helping to get all the approvals needed. Finally, a few days after my 61st birthday, we both checked in to Methodist Hospital in Houston. All our family members came to Houston to offer help and encouragement. After a week at Methodist, I returned to Annette’s house in the Houston area so I could recuperate within easy distance of the doctors at Methodist Hospital.

Annette recovered very quickly from the surgery and only missed a few weeks of work – she completed her first triathlon the following season. I am now healthy and enjoying my active retirement.