The Man with Two Birthdays
“I didn’t know how long the transplant was going to work,” said Gilbert Hernandez, who in 1978 received a life-saving kidney transplant at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Nearly 50 years later, every day he wakes up is a milestone, placing him among the longest-living kidney transplant recipients in the world.
Recently, he made a return visit to the hospital — this time under happier, more celebratory circumstances — as he was given a tour of the revamped transplant program.
And while Hernandez and his family were all smiles during their visit, he still remembers the days when smiling didn’t come as easy. “Something’s going to happen eventually,” the now 70-year-old said – recalling a time during his health struggles when his future wasn’t so certain. “It was something that I always had in the back of my mind.”
A child should be worried about passing vocabulary exams and recovering from sugar rushes, not concerned about kidney failure. Yet such was the case for young Gilbert, who learned about his kidney troubles in the fourth grade.
“Parkland saved my life,” Hernandez affectionately said as he reflected on a health journey that started over four decades ago. But his older brother, Javier, was the true backbone of the operation – devoting blood, sweat, tears and an organ to save his brother’s life.
Living on borrowed time
For years, he lived with the cursed knowledge that his kidneys were damaged.
Doctors discovered that he had glomerulonephritis (GN), a disease that causes inflammation and scarring of the tiny filters located inside the kidneys. The devastation of GN lies in that the kidney filters are the body’s primary waste system, filtering about 200 quarts of fluid daily. As a result, toxins are removed, fluids are balanced, red blood cells are produced, and bone health is maintained.
Any scarring or impairment to the kidney filters could be deadly. Still, Hernandez battled through whatever physical and mental anguish — valiantly fighting throughout his childhood and early adulthood until his organs could no longer function properly, and dialysis was needed.
The circumstances may have continued to change, but he demonstrated the same mental fortitude in the fourth grade that he did as a 21-year-old when he started his dialysis treatment.
And despite being susceptible to the potential side effects of dialysis which include fatigue, muscle cramps, nausea, and vomiting, Hernandez embodied mind over matter — refusing to succumb to his ailments.
“I never stopped working,” he said, explaining how he coincidentally worked at a hospital during this time. “I would go do dialysis in the morning then go work the evening shift.”
While work proved to be a worthy distraction, his family was the greatest diversion of all as they showered him with love and kept his spirits high.
“My family was my support system; they played a huge part.”
Little did Hernandez know that his family’s role would become even more prominent in the upcoming months as an important operation loomed in the distance.
A brother’s love
Once it was determined that Hernandez needed a kidney transplant, his siblings began testing to see if they were a match.
He was about to receive a lifeline from his very own bloodline.
Since the process took about a year, he was able to process and mentally prepare for the procedure. Or so he thought, because he still experienced uneasiness and anxiety, not for himself but on behalf of his family.
“I felt so nervous for my siblings knowing that they’d potentially have to go to surgery and donate a kidney,” he recalled.
But as fate would have it, big brother Javier passed the compatibility tests and proved to be a match. Even under the life-or-death circumstances, Hernandez still wasn’t completely on board.
“At first, I hesitated because I hated to put him through that,” he said. But Javier insisted, citing the surgery as a no-brainer given the chance to save his little brother’s life.
A new lease on life
The decision was made, and a date was set.
During the 1970s, kidney transplants were still developing, overcoming challenges such as limited technology and high rejection rates. Success wasn’t a given and the risk was high. But the Hernandez brothers put their trust in God and Parkland Memorial Hospital — ultimately allowing the beginning of history to unfold.
The transplant or as Gilbert calls it, “his second birthday,” took place on August 24, 1978. From the initial preparation to the surgery itself and the care that followed, everything went as smoothly as it could have.
“Parkland was great. Everything was top-notch. They made everything easy for us to understand and really put us at ease,” Hernandez expressed with gratitude.
Surgery was a resounding success and to celebrate, he got a head start on recovery. Walking the hospital halls day and night as he worked to rebuild his strength.
Because he recognized that while the hardest and scariest part was over, the longest stretch of the journey was still ahead.
Onward and upward
Hernandez didn’t need to seek out incentives to sustain a healthier lifestyle. He made a lifelong commitment to pairing a cleaner diet with the walking habits he developed in the hospital halls.
“I know what it feels like to not feel good. When you get to start feeling better, you don’t ever want to go back.”
Self-motivation and fear carried him for a time, but as circumstances shifted, so did his priorities. And as it had in the past, family became his “why”— though now that love had grown to include his wife, Bernice, and their daughter, Michelle.
“My beautiful wife and daughter, that’s what keeps me going,” he tearfully shared.
The two most important women in his life, who — along with his son-in-law — accompanied him on his return to the hospital almost a half-century later. Reconnecting with the transplant program was a must for Hernandez, allowing him to not only show his gratitude, but to talk to and encourage other kidney transplant patients as well.
“I’m very proud of him. He’s touched a lot of people’s lives and given this opportunity, he can touch so many more,” Bernice said as she reflected on the opportunity for Gilbert to share his story.
She even jokes about how his blood tests are even better than hers.
But with her husband being among the longest-living kidney transplant recipients at 47 years and counting, the family has much to celebrate.
“The doctors, nurses and all the medical staff deserve the credit,” Hernandez said. “I listened to them back then and that paved the way for the rest of my life.”
The power of listening, family and perseverance gave him a chance to start anew at age 22. Forty-seven years later, and he’s still honoring that second chance.
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