Texan grants transplant patient's wish

[okarol]

Texan grants transplant patient's wish

By Tracy Dang
Times Managing Editor
Published:
Friday, June 25, 2010 9:07 AM CDT

A 21-year-old patient, who is desperately waiting for another kidney transplant, received an opportunity of a lifetime last week when he and his brother met with Katy resident and Houston Texans defensive tackle Amobi Okoye.

Aaron Daniels has been suffering from a rare kidney disease since he was 6 years old.

“My parents took me to the pediatrician and asked why I was so fat, and the doctors would always say it was allergies,” he said. “I remember one Christmas, my parents wanted to get me a new coat, and I tried all of them on and none of them would zip up.”

Daniels was taken to Spring Branch Medical Center, where he was told both of his kidneys had shut down. For six months, doctors tried to save his kidneys, but when that failed, his dad became a donor for his first kidney transplant.

“I got the transplant on June 10, which is kind of cool because that’s Amobi’s birthday,” Daniels said. “The kidney lasted 6½ years, but after the attack, I was back on dialysis.

“But recently, my body hasn’t been taking to it. I started feeling really bad, and when I stand up, I would get dizzy spells. I have low blood pressure, and dialysis isn’t helping my body anymore.”

Daniels continues to go to the Texas Medical Center to receive dialysis three times a week.

“On Monday, I get up at 4:30 in the morning and head to dialysis and come home and spend Tuesday recuperating. Then on Wednesday, I have to start it all over again, and on Friday, I have to do the same thing. Sundays are my best days, where I can just be a normal person, and no matter what, I go to church.”

While it may seem hard since Daniels’ body does not allow him to have an active lifestyle, he remains optimistic and takes pleasure in seeing his younger brother play football at Jersey Village High School.

“I love the sport because of the adrenaline and because it helps me take out my frustration,” his brother Eric said. “It’s hard to see my brother go through all of this, and sometimes it’s hard because we have to give all the attention to him and I feel lonely from time to time.”

And even though the brothers have their share of fights, they are more than proud of each other.

“People are always telling Eric that he might have a chance to go into the NFL, and I see him play and see that he really is that good,” Daniels said. “That’s my dream – get a transplant and live long enough to see my brother get into the NFL.”

A dream that is more reachable now that the two have an opportunity to meet an NFL player and ask him for advice not only in football but also in life.

When Okoye heard about Daniels and his brother from LifeGift, a nonprofit organization that recovers organs and tissue for individuals needing transplants, he said he was more than happy to meet with the two.

“It doesn’t take much for me to go out and meet someone, and it means a lot to put a smile on somebody’s face,” Okoye said, “It’s great to be able to make an actual impact on a person who is going through something like this.”

Even though Daniels admitted he had to ask his brother who Okoye was after LifeGift told him about the meeting, he was more than impressed with the man, himself.

“I did my research and found out Amobi graduated at the age of 12 and was the youngest player to be drafted into the NFL,” Daniels said. “He seems like a really good role model, not only on the field, and it’s great to think that one day my brother could be just like him.”

For Eric Daniels, the experience was more than he could ever ask for.

“It feels good to know what he thinks about me and wonder if I could really go into the NFL,” his brother said. “I’m glad I got to ask him about what I’m supposed to do and how to eat and what to do to stay healthy.”

And Okoye said he enjoyed his visit with the brothers, knowing that Daniels thought so much of his brother, and he wished them well.

“It speaks a lot about the family, and I wish more families could be more like that and hang on to each other,” he said. “There are bigger things in life, and I hope they stay strong and get through this.”

http://www.katytimes.com/articles/2010/06/27/news/doc4c212e2c25038964683056.txt