About me

I’m a Commercial Real Estate Broker and Investor.  I’ve lived in the Kansas City area for more than 30 years with my family.  I am a husband, father of two daughters and a grandfather of two little girls.  It is in my nature to normally help others before myself but in this instance, I may need a little more help from as many people as I can get.

I am very thankful for your interest on my behalf of helping in some way, whether it be testing to possibly be a Kidney Donor, or just curiosity questions. 

To let you know my story of how this all came about… I was first diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy Kidney Disease in 2007.  I was told this was a disease that I had since I was a child but never knew it until then.  This resulted in Dialysis 3 times a week for 3 hours a visit in December of 2007.  After only two months of dialysis, my first cousin, Nancy Grundberg, chose to give me an extended life with one of her Kidneys.  I will absolutely be forever grateful!  My first Kidney transplant was 1/30/2008.

Every month after the transplant, I have to have bloodwork done to know how my kidney is performing.  I watch this like a hawk to know if there are any problems.  Transplanted organs have an expiration date that most people don’t realize.  After the transplant, you have so many meds that are required and relate to anti-rejection for the rest of your organ’s life.  And the life of the organ (kidney in this instance) depends on how well you take care of your BORROWED kidney. The reason why I’m telling you this is, because we have been told by my doctors, that I’ve taken very good care of my borrowed kidney.

Now to fast forward from the beginning in 2008, it’s 11 years later in 2019.  The Transplant Institute of Kansas City is where I received my transplant and is located at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri.  We have an appointment on a yearly basis with Transplant Institute as well as my Nephrologist at Research Med Center, separate yearly appointments, until then. Transplant Institute tells us it’s the end of the borrowed kidney.  That was told to us in 2019.  We were taken back even though we could see it in the bloodwork results.  We just weren’t ready, but now we have to start preparing.  Now 14+ years later, the appointments started narrowing to every 6 months…every 3 months…every month.  Blood work now every week. Now, it has been an incredibly stressful journey during the month of October 2022 with 2 surgeries and 2 hospital stays of 6+ days each. The kidney has now failed almost completely (Stage 5 CKD) and we were scrambling to get on emergency dialysis. Even after starting dialysis, they were having trouble regulating fluid areas, hemoglobin levels (dropping to as low as 5.6) and oxygen levels (dropping in the mid 80s).  We are now in November climbing out of a bad instance and into a more stable place until getting a new kidney. 

Now since October 2022, I’ve had eight surgeries and five hospital stays consisting of anywhere from 10 to 14 days.  That’s the cost of needing a kidney transplant and when blood transfusions are required constantly.

I am normally incredibly active, exercising every day, and watching what I eat to be able to maintain a pretty comfortable lifestyle. Within the past year, there was definitely a big decline in the quality of life, but we are handling it the best we can.  And if you know Scott, without missing a beat.

Contact the Living Donor Coordinator with the Transplant Institute (816/822-8257) if you have any questions or would have an interest in being tested.  Give my full name – Scott Darren Francis and date of birth (01/24/1964).  Thank you for your interest in my story and reading to the very end.