Victor's Story: “I know I’m going to graduate.”

For as far back as he could remember, Victor had been sick.

And when he was 11 years old, he found out why: Sitting beside his parents in a doctor’s office, he learned that his kidneys had not grown with the rest of his body. Carefully and compassionately, the doctor explained to the young boy that he would need a transplant.

As he awaited a donor organ, Victor grew more and more ill. Then, after two years of waiting — and when he felt he could not last any longer — the transplant coordination agency called.

“They said, ‘we’ve finally got a kidney for you’ and they rushed me to the hospital,” Victor recalled. “They hooked me up to an IV and started getting me ready for surgery.”

But the kidney didn’t match. And Victor went home worried that he’d missed his chance at life.
Not long afterwards, though, he got another call. Once again he was rushed to the hospital. But once again the transplant was aborted.

Finally, on Jan. 31, 2007, the agency called again. “And I went in and got it,” Victor said, simply and proudly.

Victor had been given a new lease on life — but his health issues had set him far back in school. And the physical and emotional aftermath of his transplant didn’t help. “I was taking a lot of medications and a lot of times I didn’t feel very good,” he said. “I went into the depression phase and I missed a lot of school days.”

Victor worked hard to get back on track, but he had trouble catching up to his peers — and that only made his depression worse.

Then he heard about NoDropouts' partnership with Washington’s Sunnyside School District. The program has allowed Victor to move more quickly toward catching up with his peers. And while he still has a long way to go, Victor no longer lets that worry him.

“I know that I’m going to graduate,” he said. “And just knowing that makes me feel really good.”

Is there a Victor in your community? We can help you help him. Call us at 855-NO-DROPOUTS or send an e-mail to info@nodropouts.com