News at UI Health

Michelangelo Disciacca had reached a breaking point with his health. He was constantly feeling fatigued, he was gaining unexpected weight, and his primary care provider was struggling to find answers.

By the time he discovered he has polycystic kidney disease (PKD) was causing these symptoms, his kidneys were functioning at only about 20%. Three years later, he was forced to begin dialysis.

“I really struggled with dialysis,” Michelangelo said. “Right away, I started gaining a lot of weight and my kidneys got very bloated — to the point where I couldn’t even move around properly anymore.”

For Michelangelo, the situation just wasn’t tenable. He needed a kidney transplant. The only problem, as doctors at another academic medical center told him, was that his high body mass index (BMI) meant he wasn’t an ideal transplant candidate.

Undeterred, he met with UI Health transplant surgeon Dr. Stephen Bartlett at UI Health’s Kidney Transplant Outreach Clinic in Rockford, located at OSF Healthcare’s Cardiovascular Institute at Saint Anthony Medical Center. By the end of that first appointment, he was confident this time would be different.

“When I first met with Michelangelo, his BMI was out of bounds — even for our very advanced transplant options,” Dr. Bartlett said. “But what sets us apart isn’t only those surgical options. It’s our willingness to put in the work with patients to get them transplant-ready.”

This approach to care was exactly what Michelangelo had been looking for. He didn’t just need a kidney transplant; he needed a comprehensive plan to get him transplant-ready — something he didn’t previously have access to in the Rockford area.

Now, with the expertise of UI Health transplant surgeons at his community hospital, the resources he needed were finally close to home.

To get Michelangelo transplant-ready, Dr. Bartlett recommended removing one of his kidneys and part of his stomach. Within nine months of those initial surgeries, he had lost more than 100 pounds and was within the body weight range needed for a safe kidney transplant.

“It was truly incredible. My energy and mobility came back right away, and it had a hugely positive impact on my ability to manage dialysis,” Michelangelo said. “But the best part came when it was time to start the matching process for my new kidney.”

And as it turned out, that new kidney would come from an old friend.

“My donor, Joe Marella, had been a friend for 10–15 years — someone who had grown up with my wife and had been close with our family and our kids ever since,” he said. “We pulled back a bit when my health challenges started, but as soon as he heard that I needed a kidney, he wanted to get in line to see if he was a match.”

On March 24, 2024, Michelangelo finally got the news he had been waiting almost five years for, and by early June of last year, the two men were preparing for their transplant surgery at UI Health in Chicago.

Their surgeries were successful, and Michelangelo and Joe were back home in Rockford within two weeks, where they would continue to receive follow-up care from Dr. Bartlett and his team at St. Anthony Medical Center.

“Being able to access follow-up care wherever I am has been invaluable to the entire recovery process,” Michelangelo said. “My job is very fluid. It can see me driving anywhere from Rockford to Madison, Wisconsin, to Chicago within a given week, so being able to get university-quality care at my community hospital was a gamechanger.”

“I’ll never take for granted the freedom this experience has given back to me,” he added. “Regaining my independence and flexibility with how I spend my time has been the biggest weight off my shoulders.”