South Florida Highschool Sweethearts Undergo Living Kidney Donation with Help from Miami Transplant Institute

By: Krysten Brenlla

Jose Garcia Jr. has always been active, whether it’s playing sports or putting time into his professional development.

But in late 2021, a sudden and persistent headache changed the 30-year-old’s life forever.

“I went to work thinking it would go away,” Jose said. “By lunchtime, I told my boss I needed to leave. When I got home, the headache still wouldn’t stop. That’s when I finally said, ‘Let me go get checked.’”

At the hospital, he received news he never thought he’d hear: his kidneys were shutting down.

“My heart rate was 150 or 160, my blood pressure was through the roof, and they told me my kidneys were functioning at about 8 percent,” Jose said. “Everything was shutting down, and I didn’t even know.”

Within weeks, he began dialysis. For more than a year, Jose’s life became a cycle of medical visits, exhaustion, and anxiety.

“It felt like we lived in hospitals,” he said. “Every few days, I was back in a hospital bed somewhere.”

But through every appointment, emergency visit, and sleepless night, one person never left his side: his high school sweetheart and wife, Valerie Amber Garcia.

Jose and Valerie first met in high school in 2013, but their connection grew over the years. By 2017, they officially started dating, and, as Valerie puts it, “never looked back.”

When Jose’s health declined, Valerie stepped into the role of caregiver.

“He had really bad anxiety,” she said. “I’d be at work and he would call saying he couldn’t breathe. I left my job to be with him full-time. I helped speak up for him, kept track of his labs, and made sure he was okay.”

When Jose’s medical team mentioned it was time to start looking at a kidney transplant, Valerie didn’t hesitate – she was tested to be his donor.

And, to their surprise, she was a match.

“They told me my blood type was O-positive, and that meant I could donate,” Valerie said. “I didn’t think twice. I never felt scared. I was with him through everything. Donating was just part of loving him.”

After a difficult period of medical setbacks, a new nephrologist redirected Jose to the Miami Transplant Institute (MTI), an affiliation between Jackson Health System and UHealth – University of Miami Health System.

After meeting the team at MTI, he felt like he had a path forward.

“The MTI team moved fast,” Jose said. “They helped me get the right insurance, the right medications, and they explained every step. They treated me like I mattered.”

Within months, Jose and Valerie were evaluated and cleared for a living donor kidney transplant.

“Jose arrived at MTI in severe kidney failure, and Valerie’s willingness to donate gave him the best possible chance at recovery,” said Adela Mattiazzi, MD, the medical director of adult kidney transplant at MTI. “Living donor transplants provide excellent long-term outcomes, and their commitment to facing this together was truly inspiring.”

On April 11, 2023, the couple underwent surgery — one donating a kidney, the other receiving a second chance at life.

“I stayed three days,” Jose said. “Valerie stayed overnight. She was stronger than all of us. She never complained, never hesitated.”

Recovery came with challenges, but every hurdle reinforced what Jose already knew: he and Valerie were a team.

“She’s a warrior,” he said. “Through everything — dialysis, panic attacks, surgeries — she pushed me to keep going.”

Today, more than two years after transplant, Jose is thriving. His color is back, his energy has returned, and he weighs more than he ever has in his life.

“I went from 97 pounds to 136,” he said. “My labs look great. My body accepted the kidney perfectly.”

And life gave the couple one more blessing: their baby boy, Levi, born exactly one year after Jose’s transplant, and on their anniversary. This past Thanksgiving was Levi’s first birthday – a birthday the family will never forget.

“It was meant to be,” Valerie said. “Everything in our story happened exactly when it was supposed to. The teams at Jackson and MTI gave me my husband back. And now, we get to raise our son together.”

“I thank MTI for saving my life,” Jose added. “They treated us like family. The doctors, the social workers, the dietitians — they guided us through everything. I’m here today because of them.”