Warsaw Man Hopes To Find A Kidney DonorEddie Hartman needs a kidney.
During a routine medical examination in 1998, Hartman, now 54, learned he had 60% kidney function.
“Which is really low for somebody who’s 31 years old,” he said during an interview Thursday. “And I really wasn’t given any advice or anything.”
In 2005, he had a physical and discovered his kidney function had dropped to 40%. He started seeing Dr. Samuel Eby, a nephrologist - a specialist in conditions that affect the kidney - and Eby did a biopsy. Hartman was under Eby’s care until Eby retired.
As it turned out, Hartman has a disease called FSGS (focal segmental glomerulosclerosis).
“It’s an autoimmune disease in which my immune system attacked my kidneys,” he said.
The kidneys filter the trash out of the blood in the body. Hartman’s immune system did not recognize that the kidneys were doing a good thing by eliminating the trash so his immune system started attacking his nephrons (the filters).
In 2015, Hartman’s kidney function was down to 19%. The doctor told him he would be on dialysis by the end of the year. Hartman changed his diet to primarily raw vegetables, a little bit of fruit and protein every now and then. His kidney function increased from 19 to 25% by that dietary change in three months.
Unfortunately, Hartman didn’t maintain that lifestyle and in January 2019, he felt like he was having a heart attack. His kidney function dropped to 8%.
“The reason I felt like I was having a heart attack was because of metabolic acidosis. It mimics a heart attack, but it’s an acidic condition in the body. The kidneys are responsible for maintaining your pH balance, helping with that, and I was too acidic, so I went to Parkview and I found out I had 8% (kidney function),” Hartman said.
At that point, he was past the point of no return. His doctor firmly stated he would be on dialysis by year’s end, and by September he started on dialysis.
“One week after starting dialysis, my energy level returned and my brain fog was lifted. I had developed a terrible brain fog. Terrible energy! Energy drains. Because my blood was toxic, it wasn’t filtering,” Hartman said.
He’s been doing dialysis every day for eight to 12 hours a day for the last 2-1/2 years.
“That doesn’t stop me from living. This is an important part: I’ve got a great group of friends and a pretty active social life. I still work part time,” he said.
He does computer tech support for businesses. He used to have his own business - Lake City Tech - but had to sell it because he couldn’t properly take care of customers being on dialysis up to 12 hours a day. He still works for his company’s buyer and helps take care of customers the best that he can.
“I live a normal life. Dialysis is not perfect. It’s not a perfect replacement for kidney function. It’s adequate. It keeps me alive,” Hartman said.
The sooner he can get a kidney, however, the sooner he can truly live a normal life.
“Here’s the thing: The donor does not have to match me. If anybody comes forth as a donor, anybody, and they’re willing to donate, and they qualify, there’s a trade program - a swap program they call it - where since I brought that kidney to the table, somebody’s going to get it. It won’t be me if it doesn’t match me, but somebody else will get it. So the donor will greatly enhance (the new recipient’s) life. Well, that puts me to the top of the list. Since I brought a kidney to the game, I’ll get the next one that matches me,” he explained.
Hartman is O-positive, but he reiterated that anyone can be a donor. For information on the transplant program, visit the IU Health website at https://iuhealth.org/find-medical-services/transplant.
If Hartman gets a donor, all the medical expenses will be paid by his insurance and IU Health. The donor will be “up and running” after just a couple days of recovery, Hartman said, while Hartman himself would have a couple months of recovery.
“We have two kidneys, you can easily live on one. So, I think God gave us a spare to share,” he said.
At any time in the kidney transplant process, if a person decides not to go forward with it, Hartman said they can back out. There’s no commitment until the organ is removed.
Hartman, originally from Chicago, has been living in Warsaw for the past 22 years. He has four daughters, ages 16 to 30, but he doesn’t want his children to be his donors.
“This is hereditary so I didn’t want to go to my kids because if they have this disease. Mine didn’t develop until my 30s. I didn’t detect it, anyway,” he said.
For more information on Hartman and his journey, visit eddieneedsakidney.com, which will take you to Hartman’s Facebook page.
To donate a kidney, visit the IU Health transplant website, call IU Health at 800-382-4602 or contact Hartman through his Facebook page.
