Nevada Donor Network Advocate for Life and grateful double organ transplant recipient, Austin, decided to give back to our foundation’s mission by hosting a pool tournament in his hometown Fernley to raise funds. Austin received his second chance at life when he became a kidney and pancreas organ transplant recipient.
He shared, “I needed an organ transplant because at the age of 12, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. As I grew older, I was not properly managing or taking care of my diabetes. It caused my kidneys to fail. I had to go on dialysis, which led to my health really declining. I was in and out of the hospital where I would be in a coma, which caused a long list of other medical complications. Ultimately, my only way to survive would be to receive a second chance through organ donation and transplantation. I was told I would wait around six months, but it ended up taking two years. I had to leave Nevada for this process, and I ended up at the Mayo Clinic. I have and always will hold a special place in my heart for my heroic donor and their family. My gratitude for this ultimate gift is something I truly cannot put into words. I will never be able to repay them for the gift of life I have been given. I have turned this into a huge passion for giving back by raising awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation in my community. It changed my life and hopefully it can help others going through similar situations. I want to let them know that there is hope and to never give up! I will continue to do any activities which help me reach our Nevada Strong community and hopefully help people going through similar journeys.”
Austin met his goal of raising awareness in his community! During his pool tournament, they also celebrated his birthday and one year transplant anniversary which happens to fall in the same week.
We truly appreciate Austin and everyone who attended his event for supporting our foundation’s mission to ‘End the Wait.’ You can learn more about this mission and how you can contribute here.