Bill's Bio/Contact Me

A little bit about me, what kidney failure is about, and how I came to know Joey. I was born June 18th, 1968. I live in NJ and I have been here all of my life. I am a huge car nut (Mustangs in particular) and I like playing the drums and golf. Thanks to Joey, I now have the energy to do all thost things and more. The best thing about this whole story for me is the car angle. Joey, who as I mentioned is also a member of Corral.net, is very much into cars and drag racing. He hosts his own site, americanmustangs.net. It was that common interest that brought us together under the most uncommon of circumstances.

My father was also very much into cars and Ford products. He owned a bunch of Mustangs, T-birds and LTDs. He even had a '49 Mercury, just like the one in "Rebel Without a Cause". We restored a '49 Ford together and were very close. He passed away February 2nd, 2007. Dad never got to see the amazing gift that Joey had given me, but I'm sure he knows somehow. This is what is so powerful about living kidney donation. For the donor, it is an incredible act of compassion for another human being. For the recipient, a new lease on life. I'm proof of that. I will work my hardest not to waste this gift and "pay it forward" the best way I know how. I know there are many, many more people out there like Joey who want to help. This is the reason I created this site, to join people who are willing to offer kidneys to help their fellow man in need. I will show you where to go and what you need to do. The links on this page to UNOS and OPTN are an excellent place to start.

I've been on dialysis twice now. Once in 1982-1983, then as recently as 2008 when my first transplant finally failed. Dialysis is basically a band-aid, mimicing the function of a kidney, but not perfectly. People sit connected to a machine for 3, 4 even 5 days a week for hours at a time while their blood is cleaned of toxins and excess fluid. Usually, there is a graft or shunt, which joins an artery and a vein together to increase it's size. Or, the second option, as in my case, a catherter in my chest going directly into my heart. The needles used are very big, and would collapse a normal vein once the machine is turned on. A needle is inserted in the arm, to draw bad blood out. This is connected by tubing to the dialysis machine. The filter, or artificial kidney, is inline and filters the toxins and fluid. A second needle is inserted to put the cleaned blood back. Depending on severity of the patient's condition, this determines how long they need to be dialyzed. I can tell you from experience, it's no picnic. People get very sick sometimes on these machines, it's happened to me too. My goal is to see people get off these machines and live life to the fullest. But they need help. Your help. Sure, there's risk and discomfort, but nothing worth doing is ever easy. Please enjoy the site and I urge you to give the gift of life. It's the greatest thing you can do for someone.

Thank you.