On July 11, 2022, with the assistance of a walker, and my mom and a nurse on either side of me, I shuffled down the hallway of the transplant wing. Those were my first steps into a new chapter of my life. I knew donating a kidney would change my life for the better, yet I never could have imagined what I would do less than 4 months later…And I never could have known the joy I feel each morning I wake up, feeling exactly the same as I did with 2 kidneys!

​

November 5, 2022, I completed Ironman Florida. My plan throughout training and race day was to take breaks as needed, and to be gentle with my body. I stuck to my plan, and it worked. There were training days when my body literally told me “I’m tired, I don’t feel like exercising.” I wanted to argue with my body, yet I knew my health was top priority – and so opposite of exercising, I rested. There were training days when I wished I could swim/bike/run faster. Instead of wishing for feeling differently, I thanked my body for giving me the best it could do that day. On race day, I had the mindset of forward progress is forward progress. I jogged and walked, and actually didn't run any consecutive miles!