Running for a reason: Why David Jacobs is doing his part to raise awareness (and funds) for kidney disease

Just two days shy of his 30th birthday in September 2022, David Jacobs found himself in an unexpectedly dangerous situation after a scheduled cystoscopy went sideways. "It went from a 45-minute operation to potentially fighting for my life there," said David.

A cystoscopy is a procedure that, according to the Mayo Clinic, "allows your doctor to examine the lining of your bladder and the tube that carries urine [pee] out of your body (urethra)." They are typically used to help a doctor diagnose or treat problems with the bladder or urethra. In David's case, they were hoping for a diagnosis after he noticed that when he urinated, it was taking him a long time to fully empty his bladder. 

Unfortunately, the doctor could not complete the cystoscopy as planned because there was too much scar tissue for the scope to get through. At the time the procedure was supposed to end, the doctor told David's wife that he had to open David up instead. The procedure resulted in an acute kidney injury (AKI), and David found himself in kidney failure.  

David's 45-minute procedure turned into a three and a half week stay in the hospital and included a fight with sepsis and both inpatient and outpatient dialysis. For David, outpatient dialysis was "really eye opening." 

"For the most part, everybody in there was in there was in their 60s, 70s and 80s – I didn't see anybody who was close to my age," said David. "And so that really opened my eyes of what my life could look like if things didn't get better."

Acute kidney injuries are a sudden decline in kidney function and can vary in severity. When the damage is less severe and it is treated early, the kidneys can go back to functioning regularly – which is what happened for David.

"By the grace of God, somehow my kidneys just decided to start working [and] start figuring out how to function again," said David. It is unclear if both or only one kidney was damaged, and after this experience, David plans to ensure his kidneys function well for as long as possible. 

In addition to changing some lifestyle habits, David says the experience has changed his perspective on life. "It's definitely made me appreciate life a lot more," said David. "So, I just look at each day as a blessing, grateful for each day. It really grew my faith and believing in God and Jesus… And there's a reason I overcame it. Still trying to figure out exactly what the reason is, but for some reason I was able to overcome everything and not be on dialysis waiting for a kidney transplant."

"I was kind of quiet about sharing my story at first," David continued, "just because I didn't want to be vulnerable. But as I've gotten a little bit older and learned from that experience, I've been sharing and that's kind of what prompted me to start running."

One year after his hospital stay, David crossed the finish line of his first half marathon. Despite never having been a distance runner before, he decided to use his running to raise awareness for kidney disease. "That's been my motivating drive," said David. "Just trying to get the word out there and let people understand that this is a real thing, and it may not affect everybody, but it does affect a lot of people."

After his half marathon, David set his sights on a new goal: running the Boston Marathon. He also decided he wanted to raise more than just awareness, setting up a fundraiser for the American Kidney Fund (AKF) through our KidneyNation platform. At the time of publication, he had raised over $1,300. 

"When I started training, I told my wife that I wanted to not just run for myself, but also run for people who have kidney failure," David explained. "When you donate to stuff, I always like to see how much of that money is going towards the cause versus what's going not towards the cause.… And I know [that] 97 cents per dollar goes to helping people who need assistance. So, I saw that number right away and I was like, 'that's actually really amazing.'" 

David also mentioned how much he liked that AKF has a program for children living with kidney disease and their families, Camp Connections. "I can only imagine how difficult it would be, especially being a younger child… you still have a full life to live ahead of you," said David. "So, that also made me really appreciate what you guys are doing."

Like many big marathons, the Boston Marathon requires that participants qualify to enter, submitting an official runtime from a previous marathon within the qualifying period. David just completed his first marathon, completing the 26.2 miles in 3:24 (three hours and 24 minutes). Unfortunately, he missed the qualifying time for this year's Boston Marathon, but he is not letting that deter him as he plans to run another marathon in the fall hoping to qualify for the 2027 race.

Through all the miles, David knows he is running for a reason.

You can donate to David's fundraiser here or set up your own KidneyNation fundraiser here.