When Ed was about 8 years old, he started getting severe back pains, only to discover that one of his kidneys had failed to develop. Eventually, the failed kidney was removed, and Ed lived with one kidney for the next 56 years.

In 2013, he learned that his one kidney was failing due to IGA Nephropathy, also known as Berger’s disease, where a kidney transplant or dialysis are the only hope for survival.

So, in late 2013, Ed started doing home dialysis that included four thirty-minute treatments each day. He also immediately went on the kidney transplant waiting list in hopes of getting a new kidney from a donor. 

In February 2016, Ed’s donor came forward and was a perfect match— Ann, an acquaintance he had known for years as their sons graduated from high school together. Ann, Ed’s wife and other friends arranged a meeting with Ed three days before Valentine’s Day to deliver the news. Ann gave him a witty card that read:

“Roses are red, Violets are blue, lucky for us, I have two.
I only need one, so please work with me, as I’d like to re-gift you a healthy kidney.”

It also read “I can’t give you my heart, it’s already taken, but I can give you a kidney.”

The surgery was scheduled for Leap Day, February 29, 2016. Now, Ann and Ed are both doing great. Since then, Ed has been able to reach out to other people in need of a transplant to give them hope and peer support.