Unhealthy dad lost 71 pounds to donate his kidney to a stranger |
Losing weight is never easy, but for father Dave Rueckl, he found his motivation.
His stepdaughter, Becky, needed a third kidney transplant due to an autoimmune disorder called Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Unfortunately, Rueckl knew he was not a match to be her donor. However, he figured out what he could do to help her: donate his kidney to a stranger on the National Kidney Registry (NKR).
“By donating to the registry, your loved one is moved to the top of the list for the next match in the NKR,” he tells Upworthy.
What happened next was a journey of strength, pure will, and grit.
Rueckl starts weight loss journey
Although he was willing to donate his kidney, he wasn’t able to. After undergoing medical testing, Rueckl (who was 60 years old at the time) was told that he was not fit to donate a kidney due to being overweight.
“I needed to be under 240 pounds. At this time, I was 295 pounds…and as I like to say very fluffy,” he tells Upworthy. “When the doctors told me I needed to lose the weight this was the perfect time for me to quit making excuses and make some changes in my life.”
Rueckl had two people who could help him: his best friend Tom Fameree, a six-time CrossFit Games qualifier, and his wife Gail, a chef.
“[Gail] changed our diet and started cooking healthy nutritious food,” says Rueckl, who added that he was eating fast food everyday. Encouraged by Fameree, he also joined CrossFit Green Bay.
His CrossFit coaches Cody and Justin asked him what he wanted to achieve.
“I told them that my main objective was to lose weight and become more fit. They assured me at that time that if I showed up and did the work good things were going to happen,” he says. “They told me it was not going to happen overnight but if I stayed disciplined and showed up at the gym that I would reach all my goals.”
Rueckl locked in, working out six days a week. The day of his scheduled transplant surgery, May 26, 2023, his weight was down to 224 pounds—a whopping 71-pound weight loss.
Rueckl donates his kidney to a stranger
Rueckl’s kidney went to a man named Hasan. The two did not know each other on the day of Rueckl’s surgery, and Rueckl did not know who was receiving his kidney.
“There is a process to learning who your recipient is. It falls on the recipient…when Hasan contacted me, I wrote back immediately, and we met about seven months after the donation (on June 28, 2024),” says Reuckl.
It was a life-changing moment.
“When we met for the first time, it was a really emotional feeling that I don’t think I can truly put down in words,” he says. “But unlike receiving a cadaver kidney, this was a time to rejoice. I was healthy. He was healthy and our Becky was going to get a kidney, and she was going to be healthy also. It was just a wonderful experience.”
Rueckl’s stepdaughter receives a kidney
Thanks to Rueckl’s kidney donation to Hasan, Becky was moved up the transplant list. Her first transplant (from her Uncle John) occurred in 2001. However, her body rejected it, and she did in-home peritoneal dialysis for about a year.
Her second transplant (from a cadaver) happened on July 4, 2003. It was a success, but, by 2021, she went into rejection again. After years of waiting, a match was found.
“Our daughter Becky was finally transplanted on April 30, 2025. It was a long wait after I had donated, but Becky was a tough match and this kidney is perfect for her,” Rueckl shares. “She is doing wonderfully. She is a registered dietitian, and is also a very good mother who attends every single baseball game her son Ethan plays in.”
Today, Rueckl is 63-years-old, continues to lead a healthy lifestyle, and is committed to CrossFit.
“My health and wellness has never been any better than it is today. I’ve settled in at 240 pounds. I had never done a pull up in my life, and I did 50 at the gym last week. I deadlift 425 pounds,” he says. “By donating the kidney to the NKR, I saved Hasan‘s life, Becky‘s life, and my life. I am healthier than I’ve ever been in my life.”
A single door can open up a world of endless possibilities. For homeowners, the front door of their house is a gateway to financial stability, job security, and better health. Yet for many, that door remains closed. Due to the rising costs of housing, 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe, affordable housing.
Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to unlock and open the door to opportunity for families everywhere, and their efforts have paid off in a big way. Through their work over the past 50 years, more than 65 million people have gained access to new or improved housing, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Since 2011 alone, Habitat for Humanity has expanded access to affordable housing by a hundredfold.
A world where everyone has access to a decent home is becoming a reality, but there’s still much to do. As they celebrate 50 years of building, Habitat for Humanity is inviting people of all backgrounds and talents to be part of what comes next through Let’s Open the Door, a global campaign that builds on this momentum and encourages people everywhere to help expand access to safe, affordable housing for those who need it most. Here’s how the foundation to a better world starts with housing, and how everyone can pitch in to make it happen.
Globally, almost 3 billion people, including 1 in 6 U.S. families, struggle with high costs and other challenges related to housing. A crisis in itself, this also creates larger problems that affect families and communities in unexpected ways. People who lack affordable, stable housing are also more likely to experience financial hardship in other areas of their lives, since a larger share of their income often goes toward rent, utilities, and frequent moves. They are also more likely to experience health problems due to chronic stress or environmental factors, such as mold. Housing insecurity also goes hand-in-hand with unstable employment, since people may need to move further from their jobs or switch jobs altogether to offset the cost of housing.
Affordable homeownership creates a stable foundation for families to thrive, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood for good health and stable employment. Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes with individual families, but it also strengthens entire communities as well. The MicroBuild® Initiative, for example, strengthens communities by increasing access to loans for low-income families seeking to build or repair their homes. Habitat ReStore locations provide affordable appliances and building materials to local communities, in addition to creating job and volunteer opportunities that support neighborhood growth.
Everyone can play a part in the fight for housing equity and the pursuit of a better world. Over the past 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has become a leader in global housing thanks to an engaged network of volunteers—but you don’t need to be skilled with a hammer to make a meaningful impact. Building an equitable future means calling on a wide range of people and talents.Here’s how you can get involved in the global housing movement:
Speaking up on social media about the growing housing crisis
Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build in your local community
Travel and build with Habitat in the U.S. or in one of 60 countries where we work around the globe
Join the Let’s Open the Door movement and, when you donate, you can create your own personalized door
Shop or donate at your local Habitat ReStore
Every action, big and small, drives a global movement toward a better future. A safe home unlocks opportunity for families and communities alike, but it’s volunteers and other supporters, working together with a shared vision, who can open the door for everyone.
Visit habitat.org/open-door to learn more and get involved today.
Imagine you’re strolling along, taking in a beautiful day, when suddenly, your eyes catch a large window. Propped up in front of it is a cardboard, handwritten sign. Well, that’s something different.
The sign reads in Spanish, “Grita Max. Si tienes suerte, aparecerá Ángel.” This translates to, “Shout Max! If you’re lucky, an angel will appear.” One woman took the challenge, and the results paid off beyond many of our wildest dreams.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pawbuddiz Rescue (@pawbuddizrescue)
A post shared by Pawbuddiz Rescue (@pawbuddizrescue)
On the Pawbuddiz Rescue Instagram, we see it all play out in a short clip. A woman happens upon the sign and begins yelling, “Max? Max! Maaaaaax!” Suddenly, a fluffy Golden Retriever pops up, almost as if he’s in a puppet show. His big brown eyes are sparkling, and some could argue that his gentle pant appears like a smile. Her voice seems to melt. “Maxito! ¿Cómo estás?” Max quite possibly “answers” her question with one simple bark.
Many in the comment section are moved by the cuteness. With over two million views and just short of 300,000 likes, Max is a big, adorable hit.
One commenter shares a similar story, writing, “In Bruges, there used to be a Golden Retriever who sat in the window on the canal. He was there for many years and was a big tourist attraction. There were paintings all over the city of him. It was awesome.” Another who knew this dog, reminded the commenter of his........