2023-March-21

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What Would You Do With an Extra Chance At Life?

BY HUGO ANGEL MEDRANO GUERRERO · SERVICES LOGISTICS OPERATIONS MANAGER · MEXICO

WITH KRYSTAL CHENG AND HELEN GALL

4 MINUTE READ · 7 MINUTE LISTEN

Not many of us get a second chance at life.

I did.

Not two but three extra chances. Each one left me with a profound learning experience.

Since March is Kidney Cancer Awareness Month, I’d like to share my experience with you.

It goes back to 1995 when I was a 15-year-old boy.

I was 5’2” and 200 pounds. I was bullied because of my weight, so I had an itch to play sports to become healthier.

But that’s where it all went down.

The local football team doctor was performing medical tests for summer tryouts. They detected I had an unhealthy blood pressure of 200/100 — something was seriously wrong.

After several tests, it was confirmed: I had kidney disease.

It was devastating. My parents were informed my kidney damage was already at stage 4, and I would eventually require dialysis to stay alive.

My parents immediately used all their resources to face my diagnosis.

After compatibility tests in 1997, my father discovered he was a compatible kidney donor. Four months later, after hemodialysis, we underwent a successful transplant on July 10, 1997.

The years between my initial diagnosis and transplant impacted my family for their rest for their lives. I received support and care that was above and beyond. Not only did my parents make big sacrifices but so did my 15-year-old brother and 12-year-old sister.

My beautifully lived years

For the next 20 years, I followed a disciplined routine of taking daily medication to ensure my body didn’t reject my donated kidney.

I went to college, graduated, traveled, earned a masters degree in logistics, got married, had a lovely, healthy son, and joined Cisco Services in 2011.

A donated kidney life expectancy varies from person to person, but mine lasted two decades.

My body began to feel the impact of those well-served years. I needed a new kidney.

By 2017, my doctors confirmed I was at chronic kidney disease stage 4.

All the memories from when I was a kid came back. But I was determined to not relive my past experience.

I took my life into my own hands.

I thoroughly researched: When and how should I begin the next steps for compatibility tests with a live donor? Where do I apply for a cadaveric donor? How can I shorten my new dialysis period?

By the end of 2017, all was going relatively well. I needed a few more tests to be formally placed into a new kidney transplant protocol. However, a tomography found I had tiny black spots in my native kidney.

It was kidney cancer.

I melted down. I had been so empowered and trusting in the process. But now I had to deal with something even bigger and more complicated!

I dealt with kidney cancer under resiliency mode. I believed that I was meant to fight this darn disease. Luckily, the cancer was detected and diagnosed early on at stage 1.

I had a partial nephrectomy surgery in 2018 and the cancer tumor was removed. My transplant protocol was delayed by one year and I was placed on peritoneal dialysis.

Being open about my disease

By 2018, I was already at two transplant protocols. One protocol from a living organ donor and the other from a cadaver.

At first, it was difficult to speak openly about my disease.

Only my family, my Cisco friends, and manager knew about my condition.

However, with the memories and trauma from 1997, I realized the importance of asking and receiving help. I decided to be open about organ donation and its importance.

Five brave people offered to donate, and I will be forever thankful.

Four of the people — my aunt, uncle, and two cousins — were all incompatible.

But one cousin was fully compatible. On January 10, 2019, the miracle of organ donation happened. I was given my third chance at life.

The kidney was perfect. My cousin was healthy. Over those challenging months, I was supported, resilient, and empowered.

With all of my extra chances at life, I needed to find a deeper purpose by giving back.

I joined a couple of kidney advocacy associations to speak with people. I discussed the importance of being open about their disease and feeling empowered to take their conditions into their own hands.

I also sponsored a Cisco donation page with the support of the lovely Cisconians in my LATAM Services Operations Team. My team allows me to give back and keep pursuing this purpose of service.

Since the beginning of my career at Cisco, I’ve been blessed with supportive managers and teams. They’ve always had my back and allowed me to dedicate time to care for my health.

Like my own family, who sacrificed everything to care for me in 1997, my Cisco team has always had my back. I felt like I was in a caring environment, which is exactly what this company is all about.

Not many people get three chances at life.

With this privilege, I’m proud I learned the importance of asking for help, staying resilient, and giving back to others.

Employee Resources

• Cisco Cancer Support Network
• Employee and Family Assistance Program
• Join an Inclusive Community
• Global Wellbeing Community
• Join the #SafeToTalk Webex space
• Share your story

Related links

• Our Impact - CSR & Time2Give
• Careers at Cisco

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