- Video shows Jayson and his full-time caregiver, Krystal at the Park at Riverwalk, photos of Jayson, and stats showing the national need for kidney transplants
- Jayson Wood's kidneys currently function at 5%, meaning he's looking for a donor to help him return life to normal.
It's rare for Jayson Wood to get out to parks like this after dealing with multiple doctor visits and dialysis appointments due to kidney failure, and now he's asking for a donor to help him return life to normal.
It's the little things like time outside that Jayson Wood appreciates even more after dealing with kidney failure for more than 3 years.
"I have 5% kidney function, and I'm living with that," Wood said.
According to Wood, in April 2019 his kidneys functioned like normal, but just a year later after multiple health complications, function dropped to less than 25%, which then completely changed his life.
"It's made life harder in some aspects because I can't have what I love."
Wood tells me his condition limits travel, diet, and daily activities, adding doctor appointments and dialysis fill his week.
"I barely have a life, but I'm determined to live it to the fullest," he said.
His full-time caregiver, Krystal Wood says it's hard to see the stress it puts on his body, especially on the days he wants to give up.
"We would love for somebody to help him with a kidney transplant and just give him a second chance on life," Krystal said.
Krystal takes him to multiple doctor appointments twice a week and dialysis three times a week.
She knows people have died during treatment, and says it's scary to leave him at his nearly 4-hour-long sessions.
"You have that uncertainty of not knowing if your loved one is gonna come back out."
Now, they have more hope.
They're working with Kidney Connect, an organization started by Abie Rohrig after he donated his kidney and spoke with a man who was running Instagram ads in search of an organ.
"I thought it was just really unfortunate that on top of dialysis, he had to run this part-time job of getting his own kidney," Rohrig said.
Quincy Ponvert joined the team to help people understand how a donation can help the more than 100,000 people on the waiting list for a kidney.
"A living kidney donation can give someone a truly new lease on life," Ponvert said.
Ponvert adds if people understood the benefits, they believe more people would donate to help people like Jayson.
"There's a lot of people, and I'm just one person on the list," Wood said.
If you would like to donate a kidney to Wood, you can sign up for testing here or if you would like more information before you sign up, you can call the Keck Living Donor Program at 323-442-7405.
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