A Second Chance
Patient Ambassador - Philip’s Transplant Journey
At the age of four years old, Philip caught Strep Throat from a family member, a condition that affects millions of Americans every year. Philip’s case, however, became much more severe as he developed a disease called post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, which affected his kidneys. He started having seizures caused by his kidney failure, and his kidneys only functioned at 30% from the young age of four years old until the age of 16. Doctors ran several biopsies over the years on Philip’s kidneys.
At the age of 16, Philip’s kidney function drastically started to fall, which required him to go to peritoneal dialysis. Philip was a senior in high school at this point, and worked hard to not allow his illness to run his life. He continued to be active on school sports teams even while on dialysis. In February 2007, at the age of 17, Philip got “The Call” that he had a kidney waiting for him at UCLA Medical Center. After his transplant, Philip returned back to Gardena High School to receive his diploma and graduate. After graduation, Philip was able to experience an event he feels every transplant recipient, living donor, donor family, supporter, transplant doctor, and nurse should experience: the US Transplant Games, which were held in Pittsburgh, PA that year.
In 2010, Philip’s kidney went into rejection, and doctors were forced to place him back on dialysis. Philip’s trials were not over. Only 3 months into dialysis, Philip had to have emergency brain surgery due to a subdural hematoma caused by the heparin that was used during dialysis. In 2016, Philip returned to college where he excelled in theatre. He also joined a club dedicated to minorities, and had dreams of becoming a teacher. Since 2018, Philip has achieved five awards with his theatre program.
In 2019, Philip became the California Representative for the YNOTT? Foundation (Youth Needing Organ and Tissue Transplants). In 2022, he added the title Outreach Coordinator. During his time with with YNOTT?, Philip has done eight events for patients in Southern California. He has also been a part of putting together two symposiums.
In 2021, Philip started A Second Chance Show, dedicated to telling the stories of courageous and fighting individuals and educating pre and post-transplant patients through educational videos and conferences. Between November 4, 2021, and November 4, 2022, Philip collaborated with other transplant advocates and hosted four conferences dedicated to transplant life. They began with preventative kidney care, followed by in-center and home dialysis, then blood pressure, and finally diabetes. The final webinar was called “The Guide to the Transplant List Conference,” where professionals from liver, heart, lung, and kidney areas presented to people trying to be put on the waitlist or who were already on the list. These professionals offered them advice on what they should and shouldn’t do to get on the list, as well as stay on the list.
In September 2022, Philip added another component to A Second Chance by starting A Second Chance magazine which recognizes individuals doing great work in the community and the transplant field along with other areas of work. It also includes columns dedicated to encouragement, artistic views, exercise and nutrition, as well as culinary stories. Philip’s motto for A Second Chance is “We are here to save and change lives.”
To learn more about Philip’s work with A Second Chance, please visit www.a2ndchance.net.
