Help: Berkshire County Professional Musician in Need of a Kidney

It's been over four years since I received my kidney. As a refresher, my father's side of my family are carriers of polycystic kidney disease (PKD). PKD is something that I have had for most of my life. In 2015, I was notified by my doctor, that there wasn't too much time and kidney function remaining for me which meant I would have to go on dialysis soon. Two years later, a living donor who turned out to be a childhood friend of mine, John Pitroff, saved my life by donating a kidney to me. We were an exact match and not a day goes by where I am not thankful for John's generosity.

I was lucky. With the exception of four sessions prior to the surgery at Bay State Medical Center, I did not have to go on dialysis. Even though my kidney function was basically non-existent, my symptoms never reached the point where long-term dialysis was needed.

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Naturally, when I hear of an individual that needs a kidney, I do what I can to get their message out to a large group of people. I recently learned about the Kidney4Paul Facebook page and Berkshire County resident, Paul Green's situation.

Paul Green who is a 72 year-old professional Berkshire County musician, composer and clarinetist is battling advanced stage 4 kidney disease. He's hoping to receive a kidney from a live donor. Kidneys from live donors are of higher quality, plus, if a live donor steps forward, Paul can get his kidney much sooner versus being stuck on a long wait list for a kidney from a deceased donor. The waiting list from a deceased donor is currently at 5-8 years. Paul needs your help. You can learn more about Paul by viewing the video below.

You can also learn more about Paul by going here.

Author: Jesse Stewart

Speaking of the Berkshires, let's take a look at Pittsfield way back when.