By EMS1 Staff
NEWCASTLE, Calif. — After waiting on the kidney transplant list for the last five years, a retired Cal Fire firefighter is in dire need of a new kidney.
Ronnie Denton, 48, was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease 15 years ago.
Denton said he was diagnosed after battling a structure fire and suffered pain on the right side of his back, reported the Auburn Journal.
“Now after retiring from Cal Fire, my kidneys are getting worse. I have been hospitalized multiple times at UC Davis Medical Center,” Denton said. “My reality is, I need help and, as one who has always protected, saved and served people of our community, this is really tough to ask.”
Denton is well-known throughout the community and the fire service; he said he’s responded to roughly 100,000 emergency calls during his service.
“We have got to find Ronnie a match now,” Nikki Ridge, a friend said. “He is facing life-altering dialysis. The time is critical in locating a match because the process to become a donor takes so much time. He is getting weaker by the day and more fatigued.”