DCI’s mission, “The care of the patient is our reason for existence,” came full circle when a longtime employee supporting patient care became the patient.
Daniel Whittle, a 12-year Alabama Dialysis Technician, is feeling good, back at work and will celebrate three months with his new kidney on Oct. 16.
“It’s been a heck of a journey since the start of it,” he said.
Diagnosed with end-stage renal disease in 2019, Daniel balanced working, being actively engaged in his health, doing peritoneal dialysis (PD) in 2021 and pursuing a kidney transplant with support from his family and fellow DCI employees.
“Having to do dialysis will get you down,” Daniel said. His wife, Hope, and teens, Danielle and Nathan, provided the encouragement and emotional support he needed to make it through his hard days, reminding him that he would someday have a transplant.
His coworkers at DCI also played an essential role in helping Daniel stay positive during his kidney health journey.
“We have an amazing team in our region,” said Area Operations Director Mona Gautney. “I often tell people, ‘We take care of our own,’ and we do. We’ve rallied with Daniel since his ESRD diagnosis came down.”
“We’re so proud of him,” she said. “We’ve all done our part, but he’s the one that had to really sacrifice, him and his family, and he has done an awesome job.”
“Daniel has been an outstanding patient,” said Serena, his DCI PD Nurse. “He’s a perfectionist at heart with good numbers and awesome labs.”
He was very engaged in his kidney health and made diet and lifestyle changes to impact his lab work and overall wellbeing. “If they weren’t in range, I wanted to know what I could do to fix it,” Daniel said.
When the timing felt right, Daniel shared his personal story with DCI patients in the clinic to encourage them to try home dialysis. “Sometimes I would help advocate for PD, show them the process of what I do,” Daniel said. “It’s a struggle to start with, but eventually it gets better; the more you do it, the better you feel.”
Daniel also helped his mom when she started dialysis and could answer her questions. It’s … “encouraging to be able to help someone,” he said.
Daniel felt well doing peritoneal dialysis for two hours daily at home; however, he knew that a kidney transplant would help him feel his best and started exploring his options.
With a high Body Mass Index (BMI), Daniel was turned down from the initial transplant list he pursued at the University of Alabama – Birmingham (UAB). He took his test results to another hospital and was added to its transplant list. Daniel modified his diet and exercised to lose more than 80 pounds and reduce his BMI.
“It was hard, but I knew I had to do it,” he said. “I changed my diet up, I exercised, just everything together.”
“Daniel, you’re incredible. You were engaged in your own care.” said Dr. Doug Johnson, DCI Vice Chairman and REACH Kidney Care Co-Founder.
Two years later, he applied and was successfully added to a second transplant list. Once his BMI was within range, he was reevaluated at UAB and added to its kidney transplant list six months later in early June 2024.
UAB called at 5 a.m. on July 16, and Daniel traveled to the hospital, underwent transplant surgery and was recovering with his new kidney later that night.
Daniel has enjoyed reintroducing foods he had to avoid while on dialysis, although shares that some things taste different than they did before.
Now enjoying the freedom and peace of mind that a transplant brings, Daniel is making the most of gaining additional time in his day previously spent tending to his medical needs. He remains active and wants to get back to boating next summer.
Daniel is considering nursing school and becoming a peritoneal dialysis nurse to help patients experiencing similar challenges to those he faced during his ESRD challenges, PD and transplant journey.
Daniel’s advice for patients is to encourage them to take charge of their health and pursue transplant. “Sometime patients feel like it’s redundant and overwhelming…it’s not necessarily a hard journey, but a difficult one just to get the things done,” he said.
He shared his kidney transplant journey with DCI employees on a weekly national update call in August, highlighting the support he’s received from his family, coworkers and care team around him.
When he rejoined his team at work earlier this week, he felt right at home. “It’s family,” Daniel said. “They welcomed me with open arms. It feels great, being back at work, moving around, doing the things you were doing before. I’m glad to be here.”