AAKP Board of Directors Member
As an infant, Dale was adopted into a family with three other adopted children. When he was 12 years of age, Dale was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Some years later, as a young adult, he was diagnosed with hypertension. While working in upper management of a national food chain, the hypertension continued to escalate. As a result of job-related stress and subsequent stress in everyday life, Dale’s kidneys began to fail. Within a few years it was necessary to begin dialysis. The work-up to receive a kidney/pancreas transplant stretched for a period of 11 months. Incredibly, Dale’s adopted sister was a match. She donated a kidney while an unidentified donor provided a pancreas. The pancreas lasted 18 months and the kidney, nine years and two months at which time Dale had to once again resume dialysis. After undergoing a grueling six years and eight months of dialysis and having suffered numerous life-threatening medical situations, Dale received a life sustaining kidney transplant from an unknown donor. The transplant was well-received giving Dale a new lease on life. This gift has created for him a new focus and personal commitment to help others avoid some of the health-related hardships he has miraculously survived.
