PHILADELPHIA — Allen Vickers was a reporter at Newswatch 16 for three years and was a favorite of our viewers.
"I know I left Scranton in 2019 but still having people reach out and remember me is incredible," Allen said.
Allen, 32, now lives and works in Philadelphia. One year ago, he opened up about some personal health news: Allen has kidney disease and needs a transplant.
Allen is not only a former coworker; he is a friend, so we wanted to see how he is doing one year later. He says he feels like he has an invincible disease.
"I'm able to work, walk around, walk my dog, do things, but at the end of the day, I am dealing with a chronic kidney disease that affects me mentally and physically."
Last year, Allen was put on the kidney transplant list at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia. He was told it could take six to eight years to get a kidney. But if Allen finds a living donor, it could take less than two months. Allen's blood type is O Positive, so he would need a donor who is either O Positive or O Negative.
Allen is feeling good right now but knows the reality of his condition.
"It could go left at any point, so I definitely make sure that I'm always exercising. I always take my medicine, sometimes twice a day and sometimes three times a day."
Allen has weekly doctor's appointments to manage his kidney disease.
"Lots of tests and lots of procedures. I think I've had four procedures related to my medical condition over the past five months."
Allen's Christmas wish is for a kidney transplant so he can close this chapter of his life. If you would like to see if you are a match, you can get more information here.
If you aren't a match for Allen, he said maybe you could help the thousands of others awaiting a transplant. Allen says he is thankful for everyone's good wishes, and he will not let this disease defeat him.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel.