Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, a machine cleans Matt Schneider’s blood and removes waste products. It’s a three-hour process that taxes the body and heart.
“Dialysis is very draining,” he told me. “You can only eat and drink certain things and amounts that can mess with your energy as well. I have to schedule my life around dialysis. If I want to go away for vacation, I have to schedule with a clinic in that area. If they are booked, I can’t go there.”
Schneider was born with Prune Belly syndrome, also known as Eagle-Barrett or triad syndrome, which is defined by a particular set of physical problems some children are born with. The major medical issue for Schneider was his kidneys, which at birth functioned at only 10 percent. He was 11 when he had his first kidney transplant, followed by two more.
His mother was the first to donate in August 1987, followed by his father in October 1994 and a younger brother five years later. Now, at 38, that third transplant has failed him, and the Mets fan and Alpharetta resident has been on dialysis since mid-January.
I met Schneider years ago at Camp Braveheart, a summer getaway for cardiac kids held annually at Camp Twin Lakes in Rutledge. He’s veteran of medical camps. He volunteers for Camp Independence — a camp for young people who have kidney disease, received an organ transplant or are on dialysis. And he’s a fixture at Camp Second Chance, which serves transplant recipients, candidates and families. He joined the Braveheart family in 2002, where he’s known for his selflessness.
“He can do just about anything, and the teens look up to him,” said Shannon Antinarella, the director of Camp Braveheart. “He strikes that perfect balance between being a friend and being that adult role model who is going to tell them what’s best, while being sincere and honest.”
The average life span of a donated kidney is about 10 to 15 years and can be higher if it’s from a living donor. Schneider’s last kidney functioned for 10 years before it began to fail, causing his health to decline. Colds lingered, and he felt run-down.
Rather than be confined to dialysis, which offers a life expectancy of five years, he wants a new kidney and has taken proactive steps to procure one. “Matt’s Kidney Page” tells his story and links readers to information regarding organ donation and kidney transplantation.
On Tuesday, Schneider had lunch with a retired professor from Berry College, his alma mater. She needs a second donor and, like him, has hopes for transplant success.
“If everyone signed up to be an organ donor,” he said, “there wouldn’t be a waiting list. I want people to know that they can help. Living donors can help, too. There are almost 4,700 people waiting on a kidney in Georgia. We can find that many donors. I want to help everyone waiting.”
Visit www.facebook.com/mattskidneypage for more information.
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