A phone call on New Year's Eve 2003 changed everything for Bryan.

I was heading out for a great night with some friends. My phone rang, and a doctor I had never met told me to drive to the hospital immediately.

I learned that MPGN-1 had destroyed 2/3rds of my kidney function. In 3 months, I would have less than 5% left. I began peritoneal dialysis. I spent weeks in denial, even after starting dialysis. I could not believe my health had been taken from me so quickly.

My family urged me to consider a transplant. At first I couldn't even say the word transplant. Eventually my family convinced me to consider it. My family and friends were tested, and my cousin Diane was a near perfect match!

On December 21, 2004, my new life began. I woke up with Diane's kidney inside of me, and my path back to health and a full life began. Two years later, I married Lisa, who I am still crazy about today. She would say I am "just crazy." I wanted to give back - though I could never fully repay the miracle of the gift of life. I began volunteering with the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance. In 2008, I joined the Texas Organ Tissue Eye Donation council which oversees the Texas' Glenda Dawson Organ Registry, and became a rider on the Lone Star Circle of Life Bike Tour. And now, I'm doing my first Ironman!