"I have polycystic kidney disease. I’ve always known I’ve had it. It ran in the family. My mother had it, and it came from her mother. Mine gradually kept getting worse and worse through the years. I eventually went on dialysis in October of 2013.
"For me, it really wasn’t a big deal to go on dialysis. Because my mother had PKD, I was very familiar with the process and the consequences of it. I always knew I would have to do dialysis. The question I had to figure out was if I wanted to do peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis. When my mother first did dialysis, only hemo was available. I was glad to know there was an alternative that was easier and more convenient than going to a center and staying there for hours. So, I did peritoneal dialysis.
"My quality of life has been really good overall. The dialysis was an inconvenience, but overall I felt the same. I never really had any bad symptoms or anything. I felt normal, really, the entire time.
"Still, it’s exciting to get a transplant. The main thing for me is that I have two young children, 1 and 3 years old. I was a swimmer at the University of Alabama before, and what has been the hardest for me is to not be able to go in the water and swim with them and play with them. To be able to be independent and enjoy my kids will mean a lot to me. It will be the biggest benefit, I think.
"This summer has been hard. I wasn’t able to go into the ocean because of my catheter. I couldn’t go in and risk getting it infected. That was a little difficult.
"I was on the Alabama swim team from 2001-05. I coached until 2008. Now, I’m the president of a small company in town and we do fixed income analysis and finances.
"The mother of one of my best friends, Denise Soulliere, is giving on my behalf. She came to the house one day and realized I was doing dialysis. She saw the machine and asked about it and then told me she wanted to donate her kidney to me.
"What was that like? I was in shock. I did not expect that. I didn’t even tell anybody what I was going through. She just sat me down and said, ‘I want to do this for you.’ That’s how we started.
"What does her decision to do this mean to me? I’m not sure what word I could use to describe it. Blessed. Thankful. It’s unbelievable generosity to want to do that. I understand family members doing this, but she doesn’t owe me anything. She’s just a great person who wants to do something special for me. It’s amazing.
"This kidney chain is probably one of the best ideas I’ve ever heard. I don’t see why someone would not want to do this, especially considering the complexity involved in trying to find an organ that is compatible with you. There are so many different blood types, tissues types and ages. To find the right person to give you a kidney is very difficult. Having this chain opens a lot of possibilities for people like me and Denise. She was not compatible with me, but this chain enabled her to give anyway and, ultimately, help me and one other person."
Frank Southon - 27
"To be able to be independent and enjoy my kids will mean a lot to me. It will be the biggest benefit, I think."