SAN DIEGO, (KGTV) —Richi Rodriguez grew up playing soccer. He calls it his passion.
"Our parents just pushed us into playing soccer," says Rodriguez.
The game of soccer also created a strong bond with his brother Jerry.
"We just always talk about soccer. I'd say to him did you watch this game, or did you watch that game."
Richi played high school soccer at Torrey Pines, He also played a lot of club soccer and as he got older, he played in a number of adult recreation leagues. However, when he was 30-years-old he received some devastating news.
"I was diagnosed with stage 5 kidney disease."
He called the news shocking and asked himself why me. Then the news got worse after talking to his doctor.
"My doctor put a time stamp for my life expectancy of ten years. I was scared, and I felt like the world was coming down."
Rodriguez needed a kidney transplant so his wife put out a video in search of a donor. It received thousands of responses.
"To ask for an organ is not an easy ask"
Richi was given a ten-year life expectancy and was in need of a donor. You will never guess who that donor turned out to be.
"I got lucky that my brother was the best match."
"I had some hunch in me that I was going to be the one that was going to be able to donate," says brother Jerry Rodriguez.
"I was very grateful for what he did," says Richi.
It's been a little over a year since the transplant, and Richi is back on the field playing the sport he so dearly loves.
"The following days after the surgery I felt 100 times better. I had so much energy I just wanted to run, run, run."
Not only do Richi and Jerry have that common bond of soccer, but a kidney transplant has made their bond even stronger.
