I used to be a head cook at an independent living community in Chicago. I’d recently moved in with my now fiancee and we were just starting to finally get our feet under us when I went to the ER after not feeling well for a while. I was told they would have to keep me there because I was in a hyper-tensive crisis. The next thing I know, I woke up a week later in the ICU surrounded by family and friends and was told that my kidneys had failed. I have recovered better and faster than doctors initially thought I would, except for my kidneys. The only option for recovery to normalcy is a kidney transplant.
I am still rebuilding the best I can while in dialysis 3 times a week. I moved back in with family in Oklahoma, to help with the high cost of treatments along with normal living expenses while on a limited income. I try to stay active by going on walks to the park, usually to play Pokemon Go. I have become much more conscientious of my diet, working around the low sodium restrictions it is suggested I adhere to. I play table top roleplaying games with friends every week, and video games on my own time. I started reading again. And when we’re not too tired, my fiancee and I spend our nights watching videos together and talking on Discord until we can live together again.
I am fundraising to cover insurance payments after the transplant, in order to make sure that I keep my insurance once I no longer qualify for the assisstance currently helping me. Any additional funds will go towards unexpected medical fees.
I have no idea what my life will look like post-transplant. I was never very good with things like 5 year plans even before this, and this has so drastically changed things, and will continue to do so. In some ways I know, such as the medications I will be on for the rest of my life, and some ways I don’t. But still, I’m excited to get into a career that I enjoy, explore new hobbies and live life to the fullest without all the restrictions that come with being on dialysis.

Family and friends of Jeremy Dawson are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with transplantation.