My Story
My name is Dennis Kern. I grew up in the southeast part of San Antonio, just north of Brooks AFB. I attended St Mary’s University, BS 1970 and MS 1972. Professionally I was a Mathematics Professor at several colleges in Georgia and Texas. After our retirements my wife, Joyce, and I returned to San Antonio to help my sister look after our parents. We have been living in the north San Antonio, TX area for about 15 years. After retirement, I was active with the men’s group at my wife’s church and worked the media there also. I was active in the Civil Air Patrol and coached a Cyber Patriot Team for seven years.
In the mid 1990s I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. The doctors used diet and oral medications to help control it. In the early 2000s a combination of my medications was found to be damaging my kidneys, placing me at stage 4 or end stage kidney disease. My kidney function was very minimal but I was able to survive. In 2023, the last bit of function in my kidneys was lost. I am now undergoing dialysis in order to keep living. I’m no longer strong enough to fully participate in most of my previous activities, but in my heart, I feel I have much more to give.
The gold standard for treating my condition is a kidney transplant. The doctors say I am still healthy enough and would be a candidate to receive a kidney. However, the doctors will not place me on the list to receive a kidney from a deceased donor due to the minimum wait time of 5 years. The doctors reason I would no longer be healthy enough by that time.
Several family members have attempted to donate, but the doctors determined they were not viable potential donors. That being the situation, I am sharing my story in the hopes of finding someone who would consider giving me the gift of life by donating one of their healthy kidneys.
Are you or someone you know interested in learning more about becoming a living donor? Answer the living donor questionnaire (https://livingdonor-methodistsa.com/) to see if you qualify. It’s confidential and takes about 15-20 minutes.
You can also find more information and links to additional information at the following website. https://www.donatelifetexas.org/about-living-donation
I would also be happy to talk with you and answer your questions. You can contact me at 830-980-5376 or dennismkern@gmail.com.
Having two healthy kidneys is the main requirement. Having a charitable heart is the other.