Josh Speert

LIVING Kidney DONOR NEEDED

Gondor calls for aid, are you my Rohan?

My name is Josh and I have chronic kidney disease. I'm a District Public Defender, which is a fancy way of saying I spend my days in courtrooms fighting for people who can't afford to fight for themselves. I love what I do. Even more importantly, I am married to my high school sweetheart, Kahlan. In August 2021 I was diagnosed with kidney failure and it drastically changed our lives. Since that day, I've done everything in my power to slow the progression, from sticking to a strict diet to maintaining a consistent exercise routine. For a while, those efforts worked, but over the past year, the disease has progressed rapidly despite my best efforts. Even after making more dramatic changes, I've reached a point where I need a transplant much sooner than anticipated. The constant, heavy fatigue has redefined my day-to-day life. It is a deep exhaustion that sleep doesn't fix, and it's frustrating when your body can’t match what your mind wants to do. This impact follows me everywhere, even into the courtroom. I need to be sharp for my team and my clients, but there are days when the mental and physical drain is a real challenge. My goal is simply to get back to a place where I can be fully present for my office and enjoy spontaneous moments with Kahlan and our dog, Rufus, without my body holding me back.

As a Public Defender, I've built my career around advocating for others. In my role, it isn't just my own clients who need me. I also oversee a team of lawyers who rely on my guidance and support every day. I'm someone who rarely asks for help, so facing kidney failure has been humbling. It's made me realize I can't do this alone. This time, I need someone to advocate for me so I can continue showing up for my team and my community.

My mother and Kahlan's father both received kidney transplants, so we've lived through this journey before from the other side. That history has prepared us for the fight, but it also means I know the toll it takes on a caregiver. Even when she doesn't say it, I see the worry in Kahlan's eyes as my disease has progressed. My greatest passion is exploring the world with her, immersing ourselves in new cultures and tasting the food of different regions. What scares me is that without a transplant, I'll spend years on a waitlist getting weaker, eventually losing the energy to create those memories and live the life I want to share with her, our family, and our friends.

A transplant would mean so much more than a medical procedure for me. For the last few years, I've felt like I'm on the sidelines of my own life, and a transplant would change that. Most importantly, it would let me avoid dialysis, which would otherwise dictate my schedule and pull me away from my office and the people I love. I want to be the husband who can plan a trip with his wife without wondering if he'll have the strength to go, and the leader who can stand in a courtroom for hours without hitting a wall. I want to share a meal with friends or explore a new place with Kahlan without a restricted diet or brain fog hanging over everything. A transplant means I get to be Josh again. Not just a patient, but a husband, a mentor, and a friend who's actually present for the life I've worked so hard to build.

I spend my career advocating for others, but right now, I am asking for help for myself. I am actively searching for a living kidney donor to help me get my health and my life back. If you are open to considering donation, you can start the process through this page completely confidentially. If donating isn't right for you, you can still be a huge help by simply sharing my story with your family, friends, and networks. The more people who see this, the better my chances of finding a match. Thank you for reading and sharing.

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