Ron Hinz, a local Manitowoc resident, spoke to Seehafer News about Donate Life Month this April.
Hinz accepted a kidney after going through end-stage renal disease and kidney failure.
He received a new kidney from his own niece over ten years ago and is now living a happy and healthy life.
Hinz says it all started with a routine exam.
“They found pretty quickly that I had a condition called CRI which is Chronic Renal Insufficiency,” he explained. “What that means is that my kidneys were not functioning at a level that you would have expected them to for a person my age, at that time.”
After long months of searching for a kidney match and multiple close calls, Hinz was finally able to go through with his transplant after his niece volunteered to donate.
It was time for him to get his life back.
“I take medication twice a day now, but that’s way better than being tied to a dialysis machine four hours a day, three times a week. So, yes, I watch my diet a little bit but otherwise, I have no restrictions,” he noted. “I can do anything I want to. It’s really no different than what I was doing before.”
Hinz tells the public that there are no real symptoms to look out for until it’s too late.
“It’s an insidious disease; there really are no symptoms. By the time the symptoms show up, your kidneys are pretty much done working,” he explained. “It’s such a slow-moving disease; from day to day, you just don’t notice it. The best way to know if you have it is to have your doctor check the urine and blood test results for potential kidney disease.”
Since April is Donate Life Month, Hinz urges people to check their organ donation status.
You can register at the DMV or at DonateLifeWisconsin.org at any time.
