An advertisement in the July 7 edition of The Eunice News was unusual.
“A Kidney for Joseph 713-441-5451,” the advertisement read.
Howard Joseph Guillory, 59, is in a tough spot.
In a telephone interview Thursday, Guillory said both of his kidneys have failed and he has been on dialysis for two years.
There is about a seven-year waiting list for a kidney transplant, he said. But finding a donor shortens that process, he said.
While he waits, Guillory has dialysis three times a week. The process, which he says is painful, cleans the blood. The cleaning process is normally done by healthy kidneys.
In his heathier days, Guillory was a reserve officer for the Eunice Police Department with chiefs Gary “Goose” Fontenot and Randy Fontenot.
Two years ago he thought he had kidney stones but on a visit to the hospital he found out different.
“It was just in time. I would have died at any minute according to the hospital,” he said.
High blood pressure and diabetes damaged his kidneys.
“They did not get my blood pressure under control in time. That caused a lot of damage to the kidneys,” he said.
If anyone is interested in helping, he urges them to call Methodist Hospital in Houston at 713-441-5451 and let them know about wanting to be a kidney donor for Howard Joseph Guillory, born Sept. 15, 1959. The number is to the hospital’s transplant center.
If no one answers, Guillory says leave message.
Testing takes a day and half and he needs only one kidney to survive, he said.
Guillory lives in the Houston area and grew up in a foster family in Lake Charles. A sister, Elaine Sonnier, lives in Eunice, he said.
After his kidneys failed, he has met people who have been waiting for a kidney donation for 17 years.
Why advertise in Eunice?
Guillory said Louisiana is home to him and it is natural for him to look to home for help.
“Keep in mind in their own city, all around, there are individuals in need of kidneys,” he said.
“This is a very serious disease and yes, I’m desperately in need of a kidney, but I don’t want the public to just look at me,” he said.
“All around there are people in need of kidneys,” he said.
And, Guillory urged people to have regular medical checkups and get as much exercise as they can.
“Sometimes you don’t know you’ve got it until its too late,” he said of high blood pressure and diabetes.
