Keron Johnson was a sophomore football player at Ocala’s Trinity Catholic High School when he received an abnormal physical leading into the season. Despite showing no symptoms, his blood pressure and creatinine levels were very high, and he would need a kidney transplant.

A few months later, on February 28, 2017, 15-year-old Keron received a kidney transplant at UF Health Shands Hospital.

Keron did exceptionally well for the first four months following the kidney transplant, growing stronger daily. Keron was not free of hardships, though.

Around four months post-transplant, he went to the doctor for his bi-weekly check-up. Routine blood work was done, and about an hour later, his mother received a call that there were some abnormalities on his lab work. Keron needed another kidney transplant.

On January 13, 2019, Keron and his mother got the call they had been waiting for. There was a kidney that was a match for Keron, and he received the kidney the following day.

Since his second transplant, Keron has been doing very well and continues to improve every day. He returned to high school, was crowned homecoming king, graduated and began attending college at Bethune Cookman University in Daytona Beach, where he is studying finance.

“Organ donors are life-givers,” Keron said. “They give people like me a second chance at life and a new perspective on the world.”