LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — From Daviess to Fayette, Stu Silberman’s career in Kentucky education spans counties and decades, but it’s in his retirement that he’s facing his biggest challenge yet.
“This particular kidney disease is pretty rare,” said Silberman, explaining the complexities of his years-long battle with kidney disease.
After working in education for more than four decades, it’s the disease that ultimately led him to retirement.
“It's just a very rare disease that stops the filtering of your blood, and I'm getting to that point right now where my kidney function is down between 13% and 15%, and at 15% it's considered kidney failure.”
While treatment options include both dialysis or a kidney transplant, research shows that patients with a kidney transplant have better outcomes than those on dialysis.
Due to the complexities of Silberman’s disease, a living donor kidney is critical, as opposed to a deceased donor kidney.
The reality of his treatment options led him to Facebook where he’s hoping to find a donor through a Facebook page, “Kidney for Stu.”
“That's the reason I ended up going and making the ask on Facebook, which was really hard to do, and I didn't want to do that, but you get to a point where you don't have any options,” said Silberman.
With every page like and share, he’s holding out hope that a compatible donor will come forward.
“I think I understand now more than ever why they call a kidney donation a gift of life,” said Silberman. “To have the additional time to spend with kids and grandkids, those types of things, you just can't explain what it means.”
They’re moments he’s thought a lot about lately.
“What keeps me going is the thought of, ya know...seeing your granddaughter go to prom….those kinds of things.”
Even if Silberman doesn’t find his own donor, he hopes people will consider being an organ donor after death.
"They call it the gift of life and it really is."
If you would like to help by donating a kidney to Silberman, you can contact the Mayo Clinic directly at 866-249-1648.
