BERKELEY – Michael Patrisso worked hard so that he could retire at 65 and enjoy the good life. Put his boat in the lagoon behind his house and leave all the worries behind.
He retired from owning a Servpro franchise and almost immediately got sick. The 73-year-old who fought hard for his whole life is now in a position he doesn’t like to be in – asking for help.
Born and raised in Clifton, he lived in New England for a time before moving to the shore eight years ago. Two sisters live in Holiday City, so Ocean County was on his radar.
It started innocently enough with kidney stones. For most people, these are very painful but most of the time patients continue without any repercussions after they pass. However, in his situation, they ruined his kidneys. They weren’t draining. This led to problems with his ureter, bladder and prostate.
“It snowballed very quickly,” Patrisso said.
Surgeons removed his prostate and bladder. Stents created infections which also impacted the kidneys.
He went through every doctor he could in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and even Massachusetts. He even spent time at the Mayo Clinic.
“They book you solid. They give you eight to ten appointments a day,” he said.
Throughout this ordeal, he’s had his partner Janice Holm by his side. “I don’t know how I’d do it without her.”
“Every imaginable test, they’ve done,” she said.
Kidney function is measured in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which reveals how much of your blood is being cleaned by the kidneys. Patrisso’s GFR is around 14-17 percent, he said. According to the National Kidney Foundation, 15 or higher denotes kidney disease, while lower than 15 is kidney failure.
“But I feel good,” Patrisso said, despite being in Stage 5 kidney failure.
He certainly doesn’t look sick, either. He recently hosted his kids for Father’s Day.
Still, the numbers don’t lie. He needs a new kidney to survive. A live donor will help right away. Waiting for a posthumous one could be eight-ten years, which is not realistic.
They already reached out to family and friends for the donation, sending 700 letters, Holm said.
“It’s very hard to do, asking for something like that,” Patrisso said.
What people don’t realize about donating kidneys is that they don’t have to be a match for the person making the request. Even if you are not a match for him (his blood type is O), donating will help someone else. And if Patrisso is the one who brings it in, he goes to the top of the list for recipients for the next one that would fit him.
He’s talked to people who were in the same situation as him and received a kidney donation and are now fine, so that instills him with hope.
How To Help
Anyone interested in helping are urged to check out the National Kidney Registry, which oversees donations and supports both the donor and the recipient. The company can reimburse you for financial hardship caused by donating, such as lost wages or travel expenses.
For more information about becoming a donor, visit NKR.org/QQP967
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