The Shaffers Are Doing a Thing

Well, as they say....

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CLEARLY we have the coffee part down. So now it's time to do the things!

And this summer, we're doing a brand new (to us) thing. We're participating in a fundraiser walk!

Several months ago, my friend Pat was kind enough to be my guest on a Walk a Mile in My Shoes Wednesday post, and he shared about his organ transplant experience. If you missed it, you can read that post here.

The quick synopsis is that Pat has received not one, but two kidney transplants in his life, and now he participates in the annual Indianapolis Kidney Walk to help raise funds for others walking a similar road.

Here's why Ryan and I are choosing to walk with Pat this year and help him raise money.

I have two friends in my life that I have known since I was four years old, and Pat is one of them. We met in Story Hour and have been friends all the way through thirteen years of school and still never lost track of each other in the 20+ years that have followed high school. I think, especially in the world we live in today, that's pretty remarkable.

Pat is one of my game night buddies, always lets me know when storms are on the way (because he knows I'm so scared of them), and has been a great and supportive friend for all these many years. Bonus fun fact: he and Ryan were in show choir together in high school, so adding Ryan into our friendship was really easy!

Pat and I were sixth graders when he had his first transplant, and he was really fortunate that time to have all his family members come up as viable matches for him. His dad actually served as his first kidney donor, and Pat had that kidney for about twenty-five years before it began to fail and he knew he was going to need a second transplant.

I remember seeing him while he waited for that second match, and I knew he just didn't feel good. He was even receiving education on what it would be like to have dialysis because that was a very real possibility. Ryan was tested as a possible donor match for him, and even though he wasn't compatible, it was incredibly moving to me that he was 100% willing to donate if he could and if it meant saving Pat's life.

The second time around, Pat was able to receive a kidney through the paired donation program, and he is thriving and healthy with his new chapter in life. (YAY!!!)

Pat says, "I have been incredibly fortunate and blessed, and I know so many people are still waiting and on dialysis. So when people ask why I walk, that is why: to help those still waiting. Hopefully through your donations, more research and technology can help those waiting."

We are grateful to still have our friend in our lives - not just once, but twice helped by organ donation.

When we found out Pat was walking again this year, we started to just make a donation in his name, but then we decided we wanted to actually walk with him. We wanted to help him raise money so other people can still have their friends in their lives. We wanted to do something to stand beside him and recognize how HUGE this has been for ALL of his life and get to experience first-hand a whole community of people who face this (or have faced it) for real just like he has.

So...all of that to say we'll be walking on Team Renal Renal Rock You this June to support Pat and hopefully bring quality of life to those facing kidney issues. We are really excited about being part of something like this since we've never done a walk before. Here's a link to the team's fundraising page if you are interested in reading more about the walk or helping out with a donation. There is absolutely NO PRESSURE at all for you to donate, but I wanted to make the link available to anyone who might want it.

And of course...we'll be documenting the whole thing so you can see what it was like!

At this point we're pretty much hoping it doesn't snow that day. :)