Special gift: Bend man to receive kidney from fiancee

Just over a year ago, on August 26, 2016, a 37-year old Bend man, Lorenzo Perez, was told his kidneys were rapidly failing.

“He keeps thinking his kidneys are just going to bounce back one day,” his fiancee, Dominique Binder, said Sunday. “It’s pretty cute, how much hope he still has. That’s one of the things that I really love about him.”

Perez said he was healthy his whole life, and doctors told him there was no real reason why it happened.

“I had to really look at how powerless I was and surrender all the thoughts that I had and trust that even though I felt alone, God was still going to provide some hope for me,” Perez said.

Just seven months before the news of his kidney failure, Lorenzo and his fiance lost one of their twin sons to SIDS. He said it felt like everything in their world was completely changed.

“I’ve thought about it, and if I could bargain with God, I would say, ‘Okay, just let my kidneys fail, but give me my son back,'” Perez said.

He has to do dialysis four times a week for 2 1/2 hours, since his kidneys can no longer clean his blood. This is on top of providing for his family and still working full-time.

Without a transplant, he would have to remain on dialysis for the rest of his life. Thankfully, someone very close to his heart was a match. His fiancee will donate one of her kidneys to Lorenzo in November.

“When we found out that he needed a kidney, my first thought was, I would want to be the one to donate, and I was gong to start getting tested right away,” Binder said.

Perez, Binder and their sons need help to cover the cost and time the transplant requires of them. They will live in Portland for two months to be close to the hospital that will perform the transplant. But the hospital won’t schedule the appointment until all the finances are organized for the procedure and aftercare.

Any money donated will cover medical, living, and caregiver expenses.

Perez said the biggest heroes in his life right now are his kids and Binder.

They will host an auction at the First United Methodist Church from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, September 16th. You can also donate on the link provided below:

https://www.generosity.com/medical-fundraising/kidney-transplant-for-lorenzo