2022 Strut Warrior
Our Strut Warrior for 2022 is...
John Kloft!
In 2020, John was diagnosed with Stage 4 chronic kidney disease. Due to his low white blood cell count, doctors originally thought John's Pancrease was the problem. With more testing they found out his pancreas was okay, but both of his kidneys were smaller than they should have been.
Their nephrologist said that John would need a kidney transplant sooner rather than later to avoid dialysis. It felt like this came out of nowhere and in just a few weeks it felt like his family got a crash course in kidney disease, donation, and all the health care and financial logistics that transplant families face.
They were accepted at Stanford’s donations program and began the testing process. Both of John's Parents were both found to be a match. Ultimately his mom, Patty, was the best candidate to become John's living donor. John deserves an amazing childhood and Living donation would give him the freedom from dialysis and a chance to have a mostly normal childhood.
Their family's goal was to complete a deceased or living donation before John needed dialysis. John took up to 10 pills a day. He was getting really tired and easily irritable—all because of the kidney disease.
John was transplanted on March 17th, 2021, with his mom, Patty, as his living donor. He is able to do all of his favorite things, including helping his family at the Beaverton Farmers Market every Saturday!
John was able to attend our Family Summer camp in August and meet more kids and families like him. He is a very sociable kid and loves to meet and talk to everyone! John and his family will be at Strut Your Kidney, so make sure to say hello!
Listen to John tell his story and learn more about him!
John's Story
