Robert Madurski, Transplant Recipient

Every day I thank my donors for their selfless decision...

I am not native to Arizona, but once I got here, I never left. I am originally from Michigan, and just as Michigan is my birthplace, Arizona is the place where I was born again! Arizona has given me three new chances at life through life-giving transplants – a heart/lung transplant and a kidney transplant. I cannot express how elated I am to have received these transplants without explaining some of the hell that was life before them.

I was born with two congenital health problems, Eisenmenger’s Syndrome and Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), that acutely altered my quality of life. Eisenmenger’s Syndrome is caused by a left-to-right shunting of the left ventricle in the heart. Because of this, I was underdeveloped, vulnerable to any vile organism and eventually needed full time oxygen. I was restricted in almost all activities a child, teen and adult could enjoy. PKD involves the enlargement of both kidneys, pocking them with various sizes of cysts and eventually disabling them. Sometimes these cysts burst and the pain is torturous! It is a dominant genetic disorder and it can affect other vital organs too. The failure of my kidneys resulted in four-and-a-half years of dialysis, three days a week, where I was speared and bankrupted of energy.

Now look at my photo. Look at the serenity. Look at the health. Look at the joy. This is a born again man. You know why?

Because organ and tissue transplantation works!!

I could go back to Michigan, but I stay in Arizona. I bask in the winter weather. Mostly, though, I hope someday, my donor families and I can get together. Every day in my heart I say thank you to my donors for their selfless decision, for their “yes.” Arizona has been good to me. Hopefully, I can give back for the great gift I have received.