{"id":20429,"date":"2019-02-06T16:35:28","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T21:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/?post_type=episode&#038;p=20429"},"modified":"2025-10-23T13:15:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T17:15:48","slug":"kidney-transplant-patient","status":"publish","type":"episode","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/news\/chairs-corner\/podcast\/kidney-transplant-patient\/","title":{"rendered":"Kidney Transplant Patient Story &#8211; with Kevin Howell"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lead\">In the second episode of the podcast series, &#8220;Understanding Organ Transplant,&#8221; Dr. Ron Falk welcomes Kevin Howell, who is a kidney transplant recipient. Kevin shares his story about getting sick and the challenges he had accepting reality. He talks about being on dialysis while working full-time, finding an unexpected kidney donor, and his recovery to health.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row  oscitas-bootstrap-container\"><div class=\"col-lg-7 col-md-7 col-xs-12 col-sm-7 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<h5>\u201cI would say don\u2019t just look in your circle. It\u2019s easy to look at your group of friends and your family members, but&#8230;there are so many people who know you every day.<\/h5>\n<h5>You\u2019d be surprised what they\u2019re willing to do\u2014to risk their bodies and injury to them. It leaves me with a feeling that I cannot even express with words.\u201d<\/h5>\n<h5><i><\/i>&#8211; Kevin Howell, on finding a kidney donor<\/h5>\n<\/div> <div class=\"col-lg-5 col-md-5 col-xs-12 col-sm-5 oscitas-bootstrap-container\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_34410\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignright\" style=\"width: 289px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-34410 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2018\/10\/kevin-howell-279x300.jpg\" alt=\"Kevin Howell\" width=\"279\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2018\/10\/kevin-howell-279x300.jpg 279w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2018\/10\/kevin-howell-768x827.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2018\/10\/kevin-howell-600x646.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2018\/10\/kevin-howell-301x324.jpg 301w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2018\/10\/kevin-howell.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 279px) 100vw, 279px\" \/><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">Kevin Howell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist wp-audio-playlist wp-playlist-light\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-current-item\"><\/div>\n\t\t<audio controls=\"controls\" preload=\"none\" width=\"1118\"\n\t\t\t><\/audio>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-next\"><\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wp-playlist-prev\"><\/div>\n\t<noscript>\n\t<ol>\n\t\t<li><a class=\"thumbnail img-thumbnail\" href='https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2019\/03\/kidney-transplant-patient-story.mp3'>Full-Length Track<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"thumbnail img-thumbnail\" href='https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2019\/01\/kidney-tx-patient-denial.mp3'>A State of Denial<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"thumbnail img-thumbnail\" href='https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2019\/01\/kidney-tx-patient-dialysis.mp3'>Juggling Dialysis & Career<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"thumbnail img-thumbnail\" href='https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2019\/01\/kidney-tx-patient-donor.mp3'>Finding a Kidney Donor<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"thumbnail img-thumbnail\" href='https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2019\/01\/kidney-tx-patient-recovery.mp3'>Recovering and Returning to Health<\/a><\/li>\t<\/ol>\n\t<\/noscript>\n\t<script type=\"application\/json\" class=\"wp-playlist-script\">{\"type\":\"audio\",\"tracklist\":true,\"tracknumbers\":true,\"images\":true,\"artists\":true,\"tracks\":[{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.med.unc.edu\\\/medicine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/945\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/kidney-transplant-patient-story.mp3\",\"type\":\"audio\\\/mpeg\",\"title\":\"Full-Length Track\",\"caption\":\"\",\"description\":\"\\\"Kidney Transplant Patient Story - with Kevin Howell\\\" from Transplant Series by UNC Department of Medicine: Dr. Ron Falk. Released: 2017.\",\"meta\":{\"artist\":\"UNC Department of Medicine: Dr. Ron Falk\",\"album\":\"Transplant Series\",\"year\":\"2017\",\"length_formatted\":\"22:47\"},\"image\":{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.med.unc.edu\\\/medicine\\\/wp-content\\\/plugins\\\/media-library-assistant\\\/images\\\/crystal\\\/audio.png\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64},\"thumb\":{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.med.unc.edu\\\/medicine\\\/wp-content\\\/plugins\\\/media-library-assistant\\\/images\\\/crystal\\\/audio.png\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64}},{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.med.unc.edu\\\/medicine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/945\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/kidney-tx-patient-denial.mp3\",\"type\":\"audio\\\/mpeg\",\"title\":\"A State of Denial\",\"caption\":\"\",\"description\":\"\\\"kidney-tx-patient-denial\\\". 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Released: 2019.\",\"meta\":{\"year\":\"2019\",\"length_formatted\":\"2:29\"},\"image\":{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.med.unc.edu\\\/medicine\\\/wp-content\\\/plugins\\\/media-library-assistant\\\/images\\\/crystal\\\/audio.png\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64},\"thumb\":{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.med.unc.edu\\\/medicine\\\/wp-content\\\/plugins\\\/media-library-assistant\\\/images\\\/crystal\\\/audio.png\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64}},{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.med.unc.edu\\\/medicine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/945\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/kidney-tx-patient-donor.mp3\",\"type\":\"audio\\\/mpeg\",\"title\":\"Finding a Kidney Donor\",\"caption\":\"\",\"description\":\"\\\"kidney-tx-patient-donor\\\". Released: 2019.\",\"meta\":{\"year\":\"2019\",\"length_formatted\":\"4:51\"},\"image\":{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.med.unc.edu\\\/medicine\\\/wp-content\\\/plugins\\\/media-library-assistant\\\/images\\\/crystal\\\/audio.png\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64},\"thumb\":{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.med.unc.edu\\\/medicine\\\/wp-content\\\/plugins\\\/media-library-assistant\\\/images\\\/crystal\\\/audio.png\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64}},{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.med.unc.edu\\\/medicine\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/945\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/kidney-tx-patient-recovery.mp3\",\"type\":\"audio\\\/mpeg\",\"title\":\"Recovering and Returning to Health\",\"caption\":\"\",\"description\":\"\\\"kidney-tx-patient-recovery\\\". Released: 2019.\",\"meta\":{\"year\":\"2019\",\"length_formatted\":\"4:31\"},\"image\":{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.med.unc.edu\\\/medicine\\\/wp-content\\\/plugins\\\/media-library-assistant\\\/images\\\/crystal\\\/audio.png\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64},\"thumb\":{\"src\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.med.unc.edu\\\/medicine\\\/wp-content\\\/plugins\\\/media-library-assistant\\\/images\\\/crystal\\\/audio.png\",\"width\":48,\"height\":64}}]}<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\t\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Ron Falk:<\/b> Hello, and welcome to the Chair\u2019s Corner from the Department of Medicine at the University of North Carolina. This is our series for patients focused on organ transplant, and today we will get to hear from a patient who has had a kidney transplant, and what that experience was like.<\/p>\n<p>We welcome Kevin Howell. Kevin received a kidney transplant in 2016. Kevin is a UNC employee, and you might be interested to know that he holds a very esteemed position in the UNC system, as senior vice president for external affairs. So today I\u2019ll get to ask him about what it was like to get sick, what it was like to get a transplant, what recovery was like, and how things are going today. Welcome, Kevin.<\/p>\n<p><b>Kevin Howell:<\/b> Thank you, Dr. Falk.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"blue\">A State of Denial<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Falk: <\/b>Let\u2019s start by reliving what it was like when you were really a healthy human who had no clue you had any kind of disease whatsoever. How long ago was that?<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> It was October 30, 2015 when my kidneys began to fail. I was with a friend and I made a phone call to you, Dr. Falk. The best counsel that I received was to drive to UNC Chapel Hill hospital as soon as possible. I never believed that my kidneys would actually go out. I\u2019ve always been very active, working out, doing hot yoga, running around the General Assembly\u2014it never really dawned upon me that this could actually happen to me.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> In reality though, Kevin, you had been ill before October of 2015. It was just that at that point in time, that you really were getting ill.<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> Yes, sir, that is correct. I was in a state of denial. I thought because I was eating right, going to church, working out, I thought that whatever was going on in my body, that I could actually defeat it, and I was wrong. It took me a while to get around to the point to admitting I was wrong, even though I was informed that this would happen.<b> <\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> What\u2019s interesting is that kidney disease is such a silent disease. It\u2019s measured by a blood test and you can\u2019t feel your kidneys failing because they can\u2019t scream. If your heart\u2019s not getting blood, it\u2019s sending pain signals. If the kidney isn\u2019t doing well, there are no messages at all except for a blood test. It comes as no surprise that you thought you were doing well.<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> Yes, and the symptoms began to come, and again, being the worst patient probably ever, I ignored those until the end. In fact, I had symptoms like regurgitating, being tired, I would often say, <i>\u201cWhat did I eat today? Did I eat something wrong?\u201d<\/i> I was looking for those excuses to say that I was going to be all right. I think that brings me back to anytime that a patient or someone is experiencing pain or your body is doing something differently, the best counsel or advice I could give someone is get it checked out as soon as possible. But I really thought that somehow, I could defeat it or it was just going to change around, which is ignorance, a big ignorance on my part that could have cost my life.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> Is there a stigma of having a kidney disease? Does one feel embarrassed about saying, <i>\u201cI have kidney disease\u201d<\/i>? People aren\u2019t embarrassed to say they have breast cancer.<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> By all means, Dr. Falk, and I think that was part of what I was experiencing. Often times you look internal, and you ask yourself the question, <i>\u201cWhat did I do wrong? Why is this happening to me?\u201d<\/i> Whether it\u2019s your liver, your kidney, or whatever organ, perhaps you\u2019re portrayed as a drug addict, an alcoholic, or just you feel the blame that, <i>\u201cPerhaps I did something terribly wrong,\u201d<\/i> that this is the perception people have of you, which is not the case at all.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> It\u2019s not the case, it\u2019s completely inaccurate. The vast majority of kidney diseases are from high blood pressure, diabetes, or an autoimmune condition, and if we knew how to stop those diseases from hurting the kidney, we wouldn\u2019t have the huge number of patients with chronic kidney disease. There\u2019s nothing one can do, but still there is this stigma that has never really completely vanished.<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell<\/b>: It\u2019s amazing, because when you look at kidneys, it\u2019s what you said, exactly. Is there any difference from having cancer\u2014breast cancer or prostate? We look at those somewhat differently and I don\u2019t know why that is, but I do think that for me, maybe I just felt invincible. I felt like nothing could happen to me. Everything in my life\u2014I just celebrated a birthday, everything in my life was just going perfectly, and I just knew this was something I would get over or surely, it\u2019s not happening to me.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> So, in October of 2015, finally you did come to the hospital because a good friend of yours, almost tied you down to make you come, and even then, it was in the hall of the hospital, not in some other organized place. You and your friend had this interesting discussion of, <i>\u201cHey, Kevin, you have to wake up.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> Yes, I will never forget that part of my journey in life. My good friend, Andy Willis, and yourself, we were at the hospital and you had reviewed my tests, and I will remember that you said my kidneys have failed. I immediately looked at you and said, <i>\u201cBoth of them?\u201d<\/i> and you said, <i>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/i> That\u2019s when reality totally set in for me. I began to think about my family, my two girls, my wife, what my life would look like, what I would do now. I love what I did in terms of lobbying the members of the General Assembly. It was a wake-up call indeed.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> What\u2019s interesting still, in 2017, there are so many people who arrive and need emergent dialysis because either they\u2019d never been told they had kidney disease, or in fact they\u2019d been told and never really wanted to accept that blood test reality. What advice would you give to someone listening, don\u2019t get to the point of really becoming ill?<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> I would simply say, it\u2019s not worth it. If you are sick, go to the doctor ASAP. I would also advise make sure that you also feel comfortable with the medical attention you are receiving. I would say that for me, after my kidney transplant, I\u2019ve advised many people to come to Chapel Hill. You want to make sure that you take care of it as soon as possible. Your life is too valuable, too precious, to do what I did. I also said about dialysis, it was a word I really didn\u2019t know. I made a lot of mistakes with my medical attention\u2014that\u2019s what makes me pretty good at this now, because I can tell people what not to do.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m blessed, I\u2019m lucky, I\u2019m glad that I really did get a second chance, when I think about it. Coming over today, walking through the hospital, creatinine at 28, and been told you have kidney failure, that\u2019s pretty harsh to hear. Even though the warning signs, you had shared with me beforehand that exactly this would happen, but you really learn tremendously much about the next steps, paying attention once that message is delivered to you. It\u2019s amazing, the whole process\u2014going from where I went, healthy one day to knowing that I need help. It\u2019s a stage that I\u2019ve never been in in my life. I\u2019m always the person to solve issues, solve problems for so many other people, and now the situation is reversed: it\u2019s me calling out for help.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> So, where you got a lot of help also was from your family, especially from your wonderful wife.<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> Aleta is awesome, and I did get a lot of assistance even when I heard those words that my kidneys had failed me, I didn\u2019t know what to do. I didn\u2019t know exactly what that meant. Hearing the word <i>\u201cdialysis\u201d<\/i> instead of <i>\u201clive-alysis\u201d<\/i> is what I\u2019d like to change it to.<\/p>\n<p>When I was first told of the possibility of going on dialysis, I frowned at that. I didn\u2019t want to be that person who would always be hooked up to a machine, and I actually told my wife and my family that if it was time for me to go, it was time for me to go. But I really didn\u2019t know what I was talking about at all. I think back at that. Sometimes you have to take self out of the equation and actually listen to what your doctors, and the nurses, and experts are saying.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> Or your wife\u2026<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> And my wife, that\u2019s exactly right!<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"blue\">Juggling Dialysis &amp; Career<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> You worked though, straight through this whole transition from being told you needed to have kidney replacement therapy, starting some dialysis, and then working on getting a transplant. How\u2019d you pull that off?<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> That\u2019s actually part of what was the best thing that happened to me, was going to dialysis\u2014one of the best things, and I say this for a reason. Five o\u2019clock in the morning\u2014I was blessed to be able to be near my dialysis center\u2014it was about five minutes from my house. About four-thirty every morning I would wake up, and five o\u2019clock I\u2019d be at the dialysis center and I wanted to something differently. I wanted to go into dialysis and not just go back to bed and sleep. I would start working early on, I would read, I read a lot of information. I looked at this as a job. I would journal and would talk about all of these different experiences\u2014things that I did in the hospital, all of the individuals who were coming in and out of the hospital room, and how they were helping me and assisting me. They were people who I never knew, people if I walked by them on the street wouldn\u2019t even speak to them perhaps, but now I\u2019m depending on them for every single thing\u2014for my existence. I did the same thing while I was on dialysis. My days were Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, from about five o\u2019clock in the morning until about eight-thirty, nine o\u2019clock. Then I would go to work every day.<\/p>\n<p>You look around the room and see so many other patients. You feel like you\u2019re not alone, because everyone else in the room, they\u2019re going through the same things that you\u2019re going through.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> It\u2019s a community of fellow travelers.<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> It is, and we need to actually talk about kidney failure, renal failure a lot more than we have in the past. I\u2019ve been surprised at the number of people, after they found out what happened to me, I received a number of phone calls, I received from friends and others that they too are going through the same things, and I would hate for them to make the same mistakes I made previously.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"blue\">Finding a Kidney Donor<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> Talk to me about the process of finding a kidney donor. You\u2019re on dialysis, we needed to get you a donor\u2014there are two types, as we talked about in a previous podcast. Deceased donors, and living donors. You were lucky to find a living donor. How did you find that person, or did they find you?<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> I think they found me! From day one, it\u2019s a faith walk. When you think about it you\u2019re actually asking someone for part of their body. You\u2019re asking someone,<i>\u201cThis is my blood type, can I have your kidney?\u201d<\/i> Now that\u2019s a tall order to ask someone! I was blessed, again, with my wife Aleta and my friend Andy Willis. This is the part where my goal was to concentrate on recovery and doing what I was supposed to do. Aleta and Andy, who I\u2019ve known for a number of years, they began with the Internet, sending out emails and updating people. I think a lot of people inquired about it, they gave them an opportunity to learn more about kidney disease. I was very fortunate to have someone right in my office, Lindsay Recchie, who came forward and said, <i>\u201cI think I\u2019m going to give you my kidney.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> It\u2019s the most wonderful gift anybody can possibly give.<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> It is an awesome gift. I often tease with Lindsay, <i>\u201cIf I would have known that you were going to give me your kidney, I would at least have taken you out to lunch or sent you flowers!\u201d\u2014<\/i>but you best believe that I\u2019ve done those things now. You have to ask the question, for yourself, are you willing to help someone else in need? You ought to be willing to help someone else in need if you\u2019re going to on the receiving end. When Lindsay first started talking about it, I didn\u2019t know she was going to be a match. All of this is done in a confidential way. When other individuals were talking about, saying, <i>\u201cI\u2019m going to at least try,\u201d<\/i> I was blown away. I was just blown away by kindness, love, of people just willing to do something in order to save my life.<\/p>\n<p>I call Lindsay every Tuesday still, every week. When I started that, Lindsay asked, <i>\u201cWell, how long are we going to do this?\u201d<\/i> I said, <i>\u201cHowever long I\u2019m living, you can expect a call.\u201d<\/i> Tuesday was the day of my surgery. When you think about that someone is willing to take a part of their body to have an operation to go through that process for you, that\u2019s a lot.<\/p>\n<p><b> Falk:<\/b> She\u2019s doing well now.<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> She\u2019s doing great. I think she\u2019s enjoyed telling others about what it means to be a donor, and I think that\u2019s so important.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> Otherwise people wait for a long time on lists for a deceased organ. A living donor, especially what\u2019s called an altruistic donor like Lindsay, is just fantastic.<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> Almost every time someone asks me about this, it brings tears to my eyes. You\u2019re left with this feeling of being grateful, being thankful, because there are a lot of people on dialysis today. Perhaps if someone would step forward and at least get checked. You lose nothing by getting checked for a loved one or for a friend. To have someone I didn\u2019t expect\u2014she doesn\u2019t look like me, she\u2019s a woman\u2014so somebody in your office but you never would have expected that person would be the one to offer their kidney is amazing to me. It just goes to show that you never know the people around you, how you might be an asset or they might be an asset to help save their life. It behooves us to treat everyone with respect and kindness, really because you don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"blue\">Recovering and Returning to Health<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> So, your health right now is spectacular. You\u2019re working out, you\u2019re on the treadmill, yoga, and you\u2019re working full-bore. How long did it take to get back to actually better health than when you started?<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> It did not take long at all. I\u2019m reminded that I have more energy today than I did before kidney failure. I\u2019m in better shape, I have more energy, I have a purpose in living now. When you\u2019ve been given a second chance at life, when so many other people could have been given that chance, but it\u2019s you now.<\/p>\n<p>I think the important thing is to always follow doctor\u2019s orders. They give you a list of things of what you should do, how much you can lift. You really have to pay attention. I was telling a friend of mine that those who do kidney transplants and work in this field, they\u2019ve been doing this for a reason. They are the experts. Try not to deviate from what they suggest. If you stay on track and listen to the directions, it\u2019s a lot better than not doing that. I\u2019ve been pretty blessed and lucky with my treatment plan.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> What message would you share with somebody who is facing the possibility of needing a transplant?<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> Not to be afraid. If you don\u2019t feel comfortable in asking someone for a kidney, to have people around you who can do that job for you. You would be surprised of just the energy, the surgery, the expertise that they do have here at UNC Chapel Hill hospitals.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re on dialysis, I would say pay attention. They say, <i>\u201cHere are the foods you can\u2019t eat, here\u2019s how much liquid you should have\u201d<\/i>\u2014don\u2019t deviate, it\u2019s not worth it.<\/p>\n<p>And don\u2019t give up. So many times, it\u2019s easy with kidney failure for people, for myself, to give up. I had one of the best pity parties I could have, until my wife sent an email to me that said that she didn\u2019t think she married a quitter. Often times you find yourselves in a situation like this that you would never have imagined in your life, but when you do, you have to keep people around you to encourage you, and life you up when you have nothing left on the inside. But it\u2019s a journey. Once you receive a kidney transplant, our job now is what we\u2019re doing today, to tell people about your experience to encourage them. We are a community of those who have gone through something similar, and it\u2019s important we bring along others who are experiencing the same thing.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> It\u2019s really important, all of the things you just said. I just want to stress the message that sometimes it\u2019s very important for loved ones and friends to help ask that question, because it is very hard to ask, <i>\u201cWill you please give me your right kidney?\u201d<\/i> It\u2019s easier if your spouse or your loved one or colleague can reach out for you.<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> You\u2019d be surprised\u2014I would say don\u2019t just look in your circle. If there\u2019s one takeaway, it\u2019s easy to look at your group of friends, your family members, but I think the amazing thing about this is there are so many people who know you every day, you\u2019d be surprised what they\u2019re willing to do\u2014to risk their bodies and injury to them. It leaves me with a feeling that I cannot even express with words, but I do believe it\u2019s something that once you receive it, it\u2019s important that you deliver the message to other people. It leaves you grateful and thankful for the second chance at life.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> Kevin, you are such an inspiring figure. Thank you for sharing your story with us.<\/p>\n<p><b>Howell:<\/b> Thank you, Dr. Falk for having me, and thank you for saving my life, my friend.<\/p>\n<p><b>Falk:<\/b> Thanks.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks so much to our listeners for tuning in. In our next episode, we\u2019ll discuss liver transplant with Dr. Skip Hayashi and Dr. David Gerber. If you enjoy this series, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/unc-department-of-medicine-chairs-corner\/id1076686662?mt=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">subscribe to the Chair\u2019s Corner on iTunes<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UNCDeptMedicine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">like the UNC Department of Medicine on FaceBook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"alert alert-blue width:100% \">\n<p><strong>Visit these sites for more information:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a class=\"external-link\" style=\"background-color: #d9edf7\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/unckidneycenter.org\/kidneyhealthlibrary\/kidney-transplant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">UNC Kidney Center &#8211; Transplant Questions<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"external-link\" style=\"background-color: #d9edf7\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uncmedicalcenter.org\/uncmc\/care-treatment\/transplant-care\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">UNC Medical Center &#8211; Kidney Transplant Care<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"external-link\" style=\"background-color: #d9edf7\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unos.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"external-link\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.wral.com\/lindsay-s-gift-saving-a-life-is-what-you-re-supposed-to-do\/16061095\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Local WRAL news story about Kevin and Kevin&#8217;s donor, Lindsay<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\/\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the second episode of the podcast series, &#8220;Understanding Organ Transplant,&#8221; Dr. Ron Falk welcomes Kevin Howell, who is a kidney transplant recipient. Kevin shares his story about getting sick and the challenges he had accepting reality. He talks about being on dialysis while working full-time, finding an unexpected kidney donor, and his recovery to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/news\/chairs-corner\/podcast\/kidney-transplant-patient\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Kidney Transplant Patient Story &#8211; with Kevin Howell\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4185,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"podcast-category":[692,664,639,638],"class_list":["post-20429","episode","type-episode","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","podcast-category-kidney-autoimmune-podcasts","podcast-category-podcast-patient-stories","podcast-category-podcast","podcast-category-podcast-understanding-organ-transplant","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Kidney Transplant Patient Story - with Kevin Howell | Department of Medicine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/medicine\/news\/chairs-corner\/podcast\/kidney-transplant-patient\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kidney Transplant Patient Story - with Kevin Howell | Department of Medicine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the second episode of the podcast series, &#8220;Understanding Organ Transplant,&#8221; Dr. Ron Falk welcomes Kevin Howell, who is a kidney transplant recipient. 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