Kidney donor will climb three volcanoes in Guatemala | News

Por VICKY CLUKKERT

CNHI News Service

A native of Franklin, New York, will climb three volcanoes in Guatemala next month while raising awareness about kidney donation.

Joyce Collier will join 17 other kidney donors from across the United States as part of Kidney Donors Athletes’ One Kidney Climb. The goal of the climb “is to demonstrate that living donors can overcome any physical challenge that a person with two kidneys can achieve,” she said in an email.

He’s been training lower body strength and completing steps with 25 pounds in his backpack to prepare for his upcoming hikes. She has also been doing cardio exercises and long walks in mountainous areas around her home in Binghamton. She said walking fast uphill with weights prepares the body for slow, steady ascents to higher altitudes. The heights of the volcanoes are about 3,600 meters, she said in the email.

This will be Collier’s first visit to Guatemala and she said she is excited about the opportunity to go. She spent 11 years in the United States Navy. “I traveled the world with the Navy, but I never made it to Guatemala. I was stationed in Guam for a while and most people thought I was stationed in Guatemala, so I feel like I’m coming full circle by going to Guatemala.”

Collier, 40, leaves for his adventure Dec. 2 and his first hike is Dec. 3, he said. She met most of the people who join her in group chats to talk about her training regimens. Some people walk with their dogs in their backpacks, others carry their children on their backs, she said.

She is raising funds for her trip and has a fundraising page attached to her Kidney Donors Athletes website. Any money raised above her goal of $5,000 will go to the organization. She held a fundraiser at GSR FIT, where she began to gain traction after donating a kidney in 2021. “I’ve gotten a lot of support from people here,” she said. “I wanted to share my next adventure with them.”

During the fundraiser he spoke for a few hours about kidney donation. He said people told him she was brave for donating her kidney and they didn’t believe they could do it. She said that because her sister Rosemary donated a kidney before her and she had no adverse effects, she knew she could suffer them too.

Collier donated his kidney anonymously.

after discovering that he was no match for his brother, Barney, who needed one. She said her sister was perfect for her brother and donated a kidney to her in 2018. However, she needed another transplant a few years later. She and her parents went through auditions in 2021, but they weren’t the perfect couple.

However, she was the perfect match for someone from California and decided to donate one. “Everyone has two kidneys, but they only need one,” she said. “Almost 100,000 people in the country are waiting for a kidney.”

Collier stayed on the East Coast and had his kidney removed at 5am. His kidney went into a cooler and he was sent to California aboard a Delta Air Lines flight. When he woke up from surgery, he was able to track his flight online. That night, he received news from his doctor that his kidney had been successfully transplanted and that the person was doing well.

Because Collier donated his kidney, his brother received a voucher and was promoted to the donor list. They gave him a kidney and he is doing very well, he said. It was difficult to see his brother, his parents, and his sister worried about his brother.

He said there are resources available if people are interested in donating an organ and he is more than happy to talk to people interested in donating. “I want to give someone the courage to donate a kidney,” she said. “Most are capable of doing this. We can save lives.”