Five years ago today, I was re-born, thanks to my wonderful friends Ryan and Traci Ferguson.
They gave me a priceless gift of a kidney transplant on Sept. 12, 2018. They put their lives and careers on hold for six weeks to help me overcome life-altering daily physical and mental fatigue and uncertainty about my future caused by end-stage kidney disease. Their grand act of selflessness and sacrifice progressively allowed me to return to a life with energy, passion and purpose each day since. And just as importantly, if not more, both Ryan and Traci have continued to touch the lives of others.
It doesn’t seem much of a coincidence that Ryan and my birthdays are just one day apart – August 20th and 21st. Not only are Ryan and I both Leos, but I like to believe the three of us share even more important things in common such as drive, competitiveness, compassion and empathy. Their remarkable blessing alone is a lifetime of evidence of the latter two traits.
All three of us are thriving! To show how lives can flourish for both the organ donor and recipient, here’s just a few things we’ve done in words and photos, together and apart, the past five years.
They gave me a priceless gift of a kidney transplant on Sept. 12, 2018. They put their lives and careers on hold for six weeks to help me overcome life-altering daily physical and mental fatigue and uncertainty about my future caused by end-stage kidney disease. Their grand act of selflessness and sacrifice progressively allowed me to return to a life with energy, passion and purpose each day since. And just as importantly, if not more, both Ryan and Traci have continued to touch the lives of others.
It doesn’t seem much of a coincidence that Ryan and my birthdays are just one day apart – August 20th and 21st. Not only are Ryan and I both Leos, but I like to believe the three of us share even more important things in common such as drive, competitiveness, compassion and empathy. Their remarkable blessing alone is a lifetime of evidence of the latter two traits.
All three of us are thriving! To show how lives can flourish for both the organ donor and recipient, here’s just a few things we’ve done in words and photos, together and apart, the past five years.
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Within a year after the transplant, Ryan and Traci built and moved into a new home in Ft. Collins. Colo. just before I built and moved into a new home in Leawood, Kan., where my Mom lives with me now after my Dad passed and my Brother moved from California to be close to us.
Each of our careers have given us professional purpose. Ryan continues his career as an Associate Partner of IBM’s Cloud Hybrid Services Group and Traci hers as a Park Planner for the City of Commerce City, Colo. I transitioned from full-time to branding and marketing consulting for companies in healthcare technology (Cerner, WellSky and now Amwell), financial services (Edelman Financial Engines) and scientific innovation enablement (CAS).
Ryan followed a passion to fly and earned his pilot's license this year. My passion for mentorship has led my two most recent mentees to morph into two incredible friends-like-family whom I’m eager to watch blossom throughout their lives.
Each of our careers have given us professional purpose. Ryan continues his career as an Associate Partner of IBM’s Cloud Hybrid Services Group and Traci hers as a Park Planner for the City of Commerce City, Colo. I transitioned from full-time to branding and marketing consulting for companies in healthcare technology (Cerner, WellSky and now Amwell), financial services (Edelman Financial Engines) and scientific innovation enablement (CAS).
Ryan followed a passion to fly and earned his pilot's license this year. My passion for mentorship has led my two most recent mentees to morph into two incredible friends-like-family whom I’m eager to watch blossom throughout their lives.
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We've all traveled extensively for fun. I've been to the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean twice each, in addition to Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, South Carolina, North Carolina and Oregon. I was honored to see where our nation's Declaration of Independence was conceived and signed, where the Liberty Bell rang, and where a young Sylvester Stallone ran up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum in “Rocky.” I went to see two iconic sports rivalries: Duke v. North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke (my Blue Devils won!) and Yankees v. Red Sox in Fenway Park.
Ryan and Traci combined international travel including to the Bahamas (five weeks after the transplant), Barcelona, Madagascar (bucket list!) with trips in the States including to New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine, Louisiana, Hawaii, Chicago, and camped at Glacier National Park (Montana), Yellowstone and all over Wyoming/Idaho/Colorado.
They regularly go to Red Rocks, which I got to visit with them. They’ve seen concerts including the Avett Brothers, Ben Folds, Jack Johnson and Pearl Jam. They also attend the WinterWonderGrass, a bluegrass festival in Steamboat Springs. They camp and float at Lake of the Ozarks, Lake Wappapello, Elephant Rocks State Park and Johnson Shut-Ins and go back to Missouri regularly to see their families in Camdenton and Adrian.
Ryan and Traci combined international travel including to the Bahamas (five weeks after the transplant), Barcelona, Madagascar (bucket list!) with trips in the States including to New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine, Louisiana, Hawaii, Chicago, and camped at Glacier National Park (Montana), Yellowstone and all over Wyoming/Idaho/Colorado.
They regularly go to Red Rocks, which I got to visit with them. They’ve seen concerts including the Avett Brothers, Ben Folds, Jack Johnson and Pearl Jam. They also attend the WinterWonderGrass, a bluegrass festival in Steamboat Springs. They camp and float at Lake of the Ozarks, Lake Wappapello, Elephant Rocks State Park and Johnson Shut-Ins and go back to Missouri regularly to see their families in Camdenton and Adrian.
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Of course, plenty of our journeys have been to see our Mizzou Tigers. Between the three of us, we’ve traveled to road games at Universities of Georgia, Boston College, Auburn, Kansas State, and Wyoming to rep our Tigers in addition to coming "home" frequently to cheer for Ol' Mizzou in Columbia!
Ryan and Traci obviously love music, but they love playing it too. Traci played guitar and Ryan played banjo at a dear friend's wedding. I joined my Mom and Brother to see my nephew get married in California. All of us continue to deepen our bonds with family and friends and develop new friendships.
Ryan and Traci obviously love music, but they love playing it too. Traci played guitar and Ryan played banjo at a dear friend's wedding. I joined my Mom and Brother to see my nephew get married in California. All of us continue to deepen our bonds with family and friends and develop new friendships.
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Suffice to say, we’ve all kept moving, thinking, working, playing, connecting, learning and observing. We're all in a state of perpetual curiosity. An existential crisis like needing a transplant is an opportunity to think about what’s next. Whether you've had a health crisis or not, don't think too long. Start moving. Do things. Go places. Just thrive!
