Our #1 guy, who is an incredible husband, father, brother, and friend, was diagnosed with Kidney Disease 15 years ago, but in March of 2023, life took a BIG turn. Chris was in kidney failure, and we needed a kidney…immediately.

Instantly, our family stepped into position and volunteered to see if they were a match. Peter was our first at-bat, and he rocked the entire process and championed being the first to figure out how to become a Live Donor. Once we learned it was not a perfect match, that whole “in sickness and in health, till death do us part” became quite literal, and I was next to see. Life has a “funny” way of how it all works out, but we ended up with one of our youngest sons, Joey, sneaking in to see if he was our perfect match.

With every ounce of luck, blessings, and grace - Joey was the donor that Chris needed. We couldn't be more grateful or blessed. Our son, Joey, not only gave up one of his organs to his father but also the time away from work, travel in and out of state, and the time to recover. Joey has truly given Chris and our family the greatest gift in the entire world. There are no words to describe how powerful and moving this season of our life has been, and we are forever grateful that Joey was the match and willing to do this as a Living Donor.

Our "adventure" taught us that living donations are quite RARE and that our situation is uncommon among many. Sadly, the reality of dialysis is not a great “workaround” -as it is taxing on the body, robs you of time and freedom, you are tethered to a machine, and, in some cases, can be quite scary. Dialysis is sadly not a cure. We learned the harsh reality that patients on Dialysis could reach a harrowing 50% death rate after 5 years and 100% at 10. Of course, there are outliers, but not nearly enough to be reliable. Artie’s Angels is determined to change the perception of transplantation and being a living donor so that more families can hopefully find hope and peace in their Kidney journeys. 

The work of the National Kidney Foundation and our experience with this disease and transplantation is why we walk TOGETHER!

We walk to support the life-changing work of the National Kidney Foundation:

•  To ensure families have a place to turn when they need answers.
• To promote the benefits and reality of being a Living Donor and saving a life.
• To keep up the fight for policy changes to protect kidney patients and living donors.
• To drive innovation in transplantation and get more loved ones off the kidney transplant waitlist.

Will you join us?

Walk with us and fundraise -or- support our efforts with a generous donation to improve the lives of kidney patients in our community and across the country.