Daniel Luevanos
Liver Recipient, Chino
Events: Cornhole, Swimming & Volleyball
I became a liver recipient two days after Christmas in 2003. I needed a liver transplant because of poor life choices that led to my contracting hepatitis C, which I didn’t know I had until I donated blood. A few weeks after my donation, the Red Cross called me and told me they couldn’t use my blood and that I needed to seek medical treatment for hepatitis C. I found a doctor in West Covina who is still happy to see me to this day.
After a series of visits to the emergency room, I was referred to a transplant program at USC where I was greeted by warm and caring staff. They started my evaluation for the program and had me enroll in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other drug and alcohol treatment programs. During the programs, I talked to a psychologist about how I had turned to drugs and alcohol to erase the pain of a difficult childhood. I knew I was slowly killing myself, but I truly didn’t want to live, so I lived a dangerous, rock star lifestyle. My body, especially my liver, started to give up from all the abuse.
After proving I was clean and sober, which meant I had to show signed documents that I’d completed the treatment programs, I was placed on the transplant waiting list in 2001. In the months that followed, my health gradually got worse and just before Thanksgiving 2003, I found myself in the hospital with an umbilical hernia. The surgeon that was going to fix the hernia told me the anesthesia wouldn’t be good for my liver and would likely cause my health to deteriorate rapidly. He was right. By December 1st, I was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and on December 15th, I was placed in an induced coma. On Christmas Eve, my family and friends were told if I didn’t receive the gift of life within 48 hours, I would die. They prepared for the worst. On December 27th, a few family members were gathered outside the hospital when a man walked in asking for my doctors. They got excited because they knew “this was Daniel’s gift of life.”
I woke up December 29th feeling sore but freshly energized and ready to celebrate Christmas (I had been out of it since December 15th). Instead, we were getting ready to celebrate New Year’s 2004. A few days later, on New Year’s Day, we were watching the Rose Parade on television when I saw the Donate Life float roll down Colorado Boulevard. I knew then that I would volunteer for Donate Life and OneLegacy. Today, wherever there is a need for someone to help educate people about organ, eye and tissue donation or to register people as donors, I am available.
I got involved with the Transplant Games as a volunteer for the 2012 Games in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I had so much fun that I went on to compete in swimming and volleyball in the 2014 Games in Houston, Texas. Now this year, I’m excited to compete in cornhole, swimming and volleyball at the Cleveland Games.
My recovery wasn’t easy and I have to take anti-rejection medications for the rest of my life, but I’m healthier than ever. I’m very grateful to be living a second chance of life through the generosity of a stranger – someone who checked the box to give the gift of life. My prayers go out to my donor and my donor’s family every day.
