September 25, 2023
In June of 2019, Danny Craig was vacationing with his family in Florida. It was their very first night, and he was planning to make a hearty dinner to kick off their stay. Suddenly, he was hit with a wave of fatigue that made it nearly impossible to follow the recipe. Then he began to cough up blood. He knew something was wrong, but he didn’t want to be seen by a doctor until he was back home. But his wife and daughter—both registered nurses—immediately urged him to go to the hospital.
The doctor who treated Danny while he was at the hospital in Fort Lauderdale happened to be familiar with Goodpasture syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the lungs and kidneys, mistaking certain proteins in those organs for foreign invaders. Extreme fatigue and coughing up blood are some of the classic signs of this disorder. In addition, Danny’s kidneys were no longer filtering his blood properly.
The doctor put Danny on a regimen to treat Goodpasture syndrome, and Danny remained in the ICU for two more weeks. While he was there, he also had 18 consecutive sessions of plasmapheresis, a process that removes harmful plasma from the blood and replaces it with good plasma.
Despite the heavy diagnosis, exhaustive treatment, and one critical moment when his survival was uncertain, Danny resolved to see things through. “I knew I had [Goodpasture syndrome]; I was very sick,” he said, “but I knew that I had to keep fighting.” Some of his family members also stayed with him and supported him throughout treatment in Florida. He was grateful that his wife’s expertise allowed her to advocate for him and ask the right questions about his care.
When Danny was able to go home, he was admitted to a hospital in Toledo, where he spent an additional month to treat his failing kidneys. He also received dialysis for four-hour sessions, three times a week. He was put on the waiting list for a new kidney in March of 2020 and was called in seven times for a potential transplant. On the seventh time, he was able to receive a donor kidney.
Danny remembers seeing so many people during his time on dialysis who couldn’t make it to receive a kidney, including some friends he had made. Because of this, Danny encourages everyone who can become a donor to do so. More donors could mean a shorter wait for those who desperately need a transplant. To those who have kidney disease, Danny maintains that, “You have to believe in yourself and never give up.” He also stresses the importance of using support systems for help and reassurance.
Danny currently leads an active lifestyle. Even throughout treatment, exercise made him feel better both physically and mentally. He walks five miles a day and was able to put on healthy weight again after losing so much from his disease. “I received a miracle,” Danny recalled, “and worked to keep that miracle.”
He also participates in Toledo’s Kidney Walk and leads his own team, called Big D’s Team. He became an advocate on NKF’s board several months ago and wants to get even more involved with the organization in years to come.
