Cape Girardeau educator shares how kidney donors saved his life

Gabriel Jenkins was a 22-year-old college athlete preparing to be a teacher. Life was good, until things took a dramatic turn.

Jenkins said initially he thought the symptoms resembled the flu. He would take some time off and life would be back to normal. Instead, his doctor said the young man was a year into kidney failure.

"Unfortunately, it's kind of plagued our family a bit," said Jenkins, now an interventionist and coach at Jefferson Elementary in Cape Girardeau. "My dad was diagnosed with chronic renal failure when I was 12. I was in sixth grade, and it's plagued him. He's actually had three transplants. He's currently going through another round of dialysis. It started with my grandpa who died and now me being sick."

Jenkins said the only indicators he was sick were exhaustion and some vision loss. Still, with his young age he didn't anticipate the seriousness of his condition.

"I suppose your body just kind of betrays (itself). You get used to having all this vigor and strength and stamina and power, and then all of a sudden it's not there. So it's difficult mentally to process that," Jenkins said.

Southeast Missouri State University outfielder Josh Cameron hits a two-run home run against Tennessee Tech on Friday, April 14, at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks won 10-1 while wearing a specialized blue and green uniform to highlight the importance of organ donation.Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Southeast Missouri State University outfielder Josh Cameron hits a two-run home run against Tennessee Tech on Friday, April 14, at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks won 10-1 while wearing a specialized blue and green uniform to highlight the importance of organ donation.Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Chronic renal failure is a condition in which the kidneys are damaged and cannot filter blood properly. With the organs not being able to function at the level they should, the excess fluid and waste from the blood remains in the body — mainly staying in areas such as the legs or around the heart.

Jenkins had his first kidney transplant at age 22 from his cousin. This kidney lasted 10 years. The average kidney transplant lasts seven years. Jenkins counts himself lucky his lasted as long as it did. In October 2021, he received his second transplant after being on the waiting list, saying it was a blessing.

Jenkins said the only advantage of having a parent who is sick is the ability to try and figure out what type of disease they have. Doctors believe they have a rare disease called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). This is when the filters are scarred. They are unable to filter your blood, which can lead to kidney damage and failure. Jenkins said the disease has a tendency to come back and not be fully cured.

Like most who have kidney disease, Jenkins needed dialysis to filter his blood. He recalled when he was going back to school as a student teacher and had to go through this process. Balancing full-time school, work and dialysis was no small feat, he said. There would be times when he would finish football practice at 5 p.m., go home to eat dinner and then head to dialysis — a process that takes nearly five hours.

After doing this for years, Jenkins had to learn how to perform at-home dialysis. He said it usually required a 14- or 15-gauge needle.

In the years he went in for dialysis, Jenkins said he saw almost everything you could see from patients coding to those who passed away.

"There are children that do dialysis. I don't want to skip over that. As well as cancer patients, too. So it's not like my thing is so different. Yes, absolutely, it was difficult. But I recognize the fact that there are children who do the same thing that these kids are still having, you know, who are still smiling," Jenkins said. "So I don't want to sound braggadocious at all, because I was never a child who had transplants, and I've seen kids that passed away from this. It's a very difficult thing. Everybody does. Everybody's having the same amount of success. So this is one of the things I kind of keep in the back of my mind."

Jenkins said one thing people should know is that dialysis and renal failure are not a death sentence. He has still been able to live a fulfilling life and achieve many of his dreams and goals.

Mid-America Transplant facilitates organ, tissue and eye donation, serving 84 counties in Eastern Missouri, Southern Illinois and Northeast Arkansas. It's coverage area represents 4.7 million people. Jenkins noted the organization helped him and his family during his transplant surgery, providing lodging so they did not have to worry about staying at a hotel coming back from the hospital. He said they are also fantastic in the ways they help children going through cancer treatment.

Last year, Jenkins was asked to help at the annual SEMO Donate Life game where he and his family threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The SEMO Donate Life game brings awareness to organ and tissue donations during National Organ Donation Month. The Donate Life baseball game was held Friday night, April 14, at Capaha Field. The university's softball program held its own Donate Life game April 7 at the Southeast Softball Complex.

To learn more about Mid-America Transplant or register as an organ donor, visit www.midamericatransplant.org/register.