Paul Johnson went on a mini-vacation to Puerto Rico in April 2017. But his r&r was interrupted when his then-boyfriend noticed Paul’s feet, calves and thighs were extremely swollen.
His feet barely fit in his shoes on the return flight to D.C. In the next few months, Paul underwent several medical tests to determine what was wrong.
Ultimately, he was diagnosed with a rare genetic autoimmune disorder. The news was bleak—Paul would need a kidney transplant if he had any chance of living a long life.
Paul, who rapidly gained 42 pounds of fluid and could hardly breathe at times, would receive overnight dialysis treatment several times a week so a machine could filter his blood to keep him alive.