BY AMI FELKER
A different kind of list The first chore on most husbands’ weekend “honey do” list is cleaning out the garage or mowing the lawn, but Troy Himes’ list was different. No. 1 on his list? Undergo four hours of kidney dialysis every Saturday. A Type 2 diabetic since the age of 13, Himes’ condition slowly deteriorated until he developed end-stage kidney failure and his kidneys could no longer function on their own. For three years, he underwent kidney dialysis treatments in his home three times a week. The treatments themselves were not painful, but they left him tired and lethargic. His rockbottom energy level even left him unable to play with his baby son Damien.
Planning family vacations was a chore because he had to locate and make special arrangements with a dialysis center near their destination so he could maintain his treatment regimen. While many young families took trips to exotic locations, the Himes stayed relatively close to home and visited family in South Carolina. When it was determined that Himes needed a kidney transplant, his wife Cassandra immediately agreed to be tested to determine if she could donate one of her kidneys. “We had just had our son and I knew he needed a father so I jumped at the chance to see if I could give Troy another chance at life,” she said. The high school English teacher said she knew before the tests came
Cassandra, Damien and Troy Himes. Troy encourages more people to become organ donors because there are thousands of people waiting on a transplant.
24 VOLUME 4, NUMBER 4
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