Unfiltered Story: “My Kidney Transplant Failing Was a Blessing in Disguise.”

Unfiltered Story follows the journey of one person over time whose life was impacted by kidney disease. In this edition, we follow Anthony Tuggle as he readjusts to life on dialysis while searching for a living kidney donor. We recommend reading Part 1 and Part 2 before continuing.

What started as a setback—the failure of a 25-year kidney transplant—led to a life-saving discovery for Anthony Tuggle. Doctors found stage 1 kidney cancer in his native kidneys during his transplant evaluation. The cancer would have likely gone undetected had he not gone through the evaluation after his transplant failed. 

After Anthony’s transplant failed, he decided to start peritoneal dialysis (PD). PD is a home dialysis option that uses the lining of the abdomen (called the peritoneum) to filter excess fluids and toxins from the body.

There are two types of PD:

• Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD): Done by hand without a machine throughout the day.
• Automated Peritoneal Dialysis (APD): A machine does the dialysis, usually at night.

While waiting for his PD access or the catheter in his abdomen to heal, Anthony struggled with in-center hemodialysis.

"Going to in-center hemodialysis was tough. I was forced into the clinic and hooked up to a machine three days a week, four hours a day," Anthony said. "Losing so much fluid in one day takes a toll on the body. In between sessions, you are exhausted and need to recuperate."

Luckily, Anthony only had to go to in-center dialysis for about three weeks.

"I'm a patient who needs to be in control of their treatment. CAPD gives me that opportunity," Anthony said. "I feel much healthier doing treatments daily and on my own time."

PD also gave Anthony a sense of control.

"I love the flexibility of CAPD," Anthony said. "I can still travel and work. I have fewer diet and fluid restrictions. I still urinate. It gives me the closest thing to life."

He recommends that others look into PD or home hemodialysis (HHD) options for themselves. 

"I think people are afraid of home dialysis because you have to do the treatment yourself. But, the training is extensive. You have amazing support. My team is only a phone call or text away," Anthony said. "If you are healthy enough to do home dialysis, try it. It was life-changing for me.

Learn more about the pros and cons of home dialysis.

Anthony settled into his PD routine and began the transplant waitlist evaluation. That's when his doctors made a startling discovery.

"I had two large masses on each of my native kidneys. Both kidneys had to be removed," Anthony said. "Further testing showed I had stage 1 kidney cancer."

While the kidney removal itself wasn't difficult for Anthony, it did come with some setbacks.

"I should have been out of the hospital the next day. Then, the complications hit. The surgery disrupted my PD catheter," said Anthony. "I spent a week in the hospital. My team did everything possible to get it to work again."

Unfortunately, they couldn’t fix his PD access. Anthony had no choice but to go back to in-center hemodialysis.

"I got a chest catheter for hemodialysis. Once that healed, I was back in surgery to get a new PD catheter," Anthony said. "It took another few weeks for that to heal. Until then, I had to go to the in-center."

Despite the benefits of home dialysis, only around 13.4% of people with kidney failure use it. 

Ask your Members of Congress to help more patients access home dialysis.

Anthony is now back on PD and feeling hopeful about the future.

2024: A Year of Purpose, Resilience, Impact, and Gratitude

As I look back on 2024, I’m filled with gratitude for the moments that defined this year, a year of connection, growth, and service.

I had the privilege of sharing my journey through features in @CIOLookmagazine ,… pic.twitter.com/DCppgy3QBo

— Anthony E. Tuggle (@anthonyetuggle) December 19, 2024

"I always look at the positive side. If my kidney transplant didn't fail in March, I wouldn't have known I had cancer,” said Anthony. “It's a blessing to have caught it before there were any real issues."

That doesn’t mean it wasn't a difficult period for him, though.

"It was a long, difficult process that I had to power through," Anthony said. "I'm lucky I have a great support system at home to help me."

Once Anthony recovered from the surgeries, he went through the transplant evaluation a third time.

"I am officially back on the transplant waitlist. I had two potential donors rejected due to health issues. That was disappointing and I was left wondering what to do next," Anthony said. "I've decided to continue educating people about the benefits of living donation while searching for my own donor."

Sharing your story and finding a living donor can feel intimidating. 

NKF is here to help:

• Take our free online course on finding a living donor.
• Learn how to share your story.
• Find live NKF transplant education events near you.
• Get matched with a trained NKF Peer mentor.

"When I learned I had cancer, my life flashed in front of me. I had to decide whether to throw in the towel or go all in and fight," said Anthony. "I decided to fight and encourage others to do the same."

Learn more about kidney transplantation.