“Without DCI and Camp Okawehna, I’m not sure what I would be doing.” – Mark, DCI employee and kidney transplant recipient
At DCI, our mission-centered approach to patient care is always the focus, but for one Texas employee, it’s also a personal calling based on experience. Mark, RN, who began his DCI career as a Patient Care Technician in 2013, brings unique, first-hand knowledge to his role.
Born with kidney disease, Mark had corrective surgery as a young child before beginning peritoneal dialysis and later needed hemodialysis after an initial transplant from his dad failed.
As a child on dialysis, Mark experienced what it was like to feel different than other kids his age. All the side effects and challenges that come with kidney disease felt magnified. He dealt with depression, experienced a lack of appetite and missed school days that impacted his social life and self-esteem.
When the opportunity for transplant came again, he felt blessed to have another chance and received a kidney from his older sister, a perfect match. The surgery was a success, and Mark will celebrate 25 years with his kidney this July.
Soon after his second transplant, Mark’s dad found a summer camp for kids with kidney disease to help him meet other kids with similar challenges. DCI’s Camp Okawehna, held in Lyles, Tenn., was an eye-opening and transformative experience for Mark. “I got to meet other people like me and realized I really wasn’t alone in it.”
After college, Mark considered going into the medical field, but hadn’t focused on dialysis until an old friend from Camp Okawehna reached out and told him about careers available at DCI. Inspired by his health challenges, pursuing a dialysis career was an easy choice, and he moved from Louisiana to Tennessee and accepted a job as a Patient Care Technician.
Eager to further his career and education, Mark pursued becoming a Registered Nurse utilizing DCI’s education reimbursement program. When the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, he was working in acute dialysis with DCI’s Hospital Services program and decided it was time for a change.
He accepted a position in Austin, Texas, in DCI’s pediatric dialysis unit. “It was a nice full-circle moment,” he said.
Mark is both a dialysis nurse and a part-time biomedical technician at his clinic, coming in when the clinic is closed to service the dialysis machines and ensure they’re running well for treatments. He demonstrates the same tenacious, go-getter attitude that got him through childhood health struggles in his daily career, stepping up to fill the biomedical technician role by taking on extra duties, simply because there was a need.
Mark loves working with pediatric patients and their families and says he can’t see himself anywhere else in his career. “When I first started dialysis, I was pretty depressed,” he said. “I like trying to cheer the kids up, because I know how it feels to be in their position, and I don’t want any other kids to feel that way.”
Each year he can, Mark travels to work in Camp Okawehna’s on-site hemodialysis unit, finding joy in watching participants experience camp like he did.
Today, Mark is doing well, checking in quarterly with his nephrologist and making the most of each day with his wife and three children.
“I’m just thankful to be here and share my experience,” he said.
Thank you, Mark, for your service to DCI and bringing your personal experience to every patient interaction. You truly exemplify DCI’s mission!