DIX HILLS, NY — A Dix Hills family man on dialysis after going into end-stage renal failure is in need of a live kidney donor.
Jonas Wagner, 44, a husband and father-of-two, worked hard for a few years to get in shape. He lost 70 pounds by going to the gym and eating healthy. All was well.
On Nov. 29, he had a bloody nose that his wife, Gali, attributed to winter dryness. She noticed him eating less. Maybe his diet was too strict, or maybe he didn’t like her cooking, Gali jokingly said.
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He felt congested while lying down to sleep, and his feet became swollen in early January. Blood work showed Jonas’s blood pressure as super high, and his creatine level were elevated.
On Jan. 14, a day after the hospital visit, doctors put Jonas on dialysis — his kidneys became borderline non-functional.
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“Now they’re not functioning. If he wasn’t on dialysis, he couldn’t stay alive,” Gali told Patch. “It’s crazy. Dialysis is a lifesaver, and it’s really incredible, but at the same time, it’s hard on the body, it’s hard on the heart. We’re optimistic that he’s not going to be on it long-term. He pretty much needs a kidney donor. The longer he stays on dialysis, the worse off he’ll be.”
Jonas currently suffers from fatigue, low energy, a very hoarse voice, cramping and migraines, as dialysis drains the body. He’s also struggling with the time constraints of dialysis, which takes away 15 hours a week from him — including time spent with his 14-year-old son, Michael, and 8-year-old daughter, Madison.
“My kids have their programs, their shows. I can’t attend all these things because I’m on dialysis,” Jonas said. “It’s a challenge to maintain a happy and healthy lifestyle with not being able to be with my family.”
Despite the pain, he continues receiving treatment because of his family.
“I want to be here as long as possible to support them,” he said.
A kidney from a live donor lasts about 15 to 20 years, whereas one from a corpse lasts roughly half as long, and comes with more negative effects on the body, the Wagner family said.
In New York, the wait time is years, not months, and it’s for cadaver kidneys.
While Jonas has struggled, he remains “extremely positive,” Gali said.
“He’s a really good friend to everyone. Whenever anybody has a question about anything, they will ask him, and always he either knows the answer or knows where to go for the answer. It’s really incredible. Any type of question that anybody will have about life, about history, about cars, houses … He’s a great resource for friends, co-workers, family. To top it all off, he’s a nice guy who has a warm heart. He’s always there to help everybody.”
Gali admitted the kidney donation process seems a bit overwhelming, calling it “not something you’d even want to learn about.” The process is “quite simple,” she said, though.
“Everybody has two kidneys; you only need one,” Gali said. “So it’s a no-brainer to at least see if you’re a match. If you can help somebody, what better thing can you do with your life than save somebody else’s life while you’re still alive? You can see another person alive and flourishing all because of you. It’s kind of an amazing thing to be able to give that to somebody. Before this whole thing, I never would have thought about donating an organ. However, it’s the simplest way to really help somebody and change somebody’s life without having to do so much yourself.”
Jonas asked people, even if they do not want to donate, to tell two friends. His blood type is A+, meaning donors with A or O blood types can match.
“You never know if your friend could be the match. It’s just about spreading the word about kidney awareness,” he said.
The family has been “extremely overwhelmed” by everybody’s support, Gali said.
Harold Teller, 13, who is a friend of Michael Wagner’s, is trying to raise awareness for Jonas. Teller himself recently raised more than $8,000 for suicide prevention.
Renewal, a not-for-profit, organized an awareness event for the Wagners on April 19 at Huntington Town Hall, as April is National Donate Life Month. The program, slated for 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., will be followed by an hour-long swabbing event. Huntington Town Hall is at 100 Main St., Huntington.
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Daria Teller, Harold’s mother, volunteered to bring ribbons to the event. Another friend of the Wagners offered light refreshments. Others have asked what the family needs from the supermarket.
“It’s really nice to see people have access to whatever and they’re just offering help without knowing what we need,” Gali said. “People are offering different ways to help. That has been really very heartwarming.”
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