Deep Calls for Life: Dr. Elliott's journey for a kidney donor by Chris Karenbauer In the fall of 2021, Senior Professor of Communication Dr. Chuck Elliott rece ived news that his kidneys were failing . His doctor immediately put Elliott on a waitlist for a new kidney. Twenty years earlier, Elliott lived in Hong Kong, China, with his wife and children as a communication professor at Hong Kong Baptist University. Because of the stress of living in Hong Kong, Elliott experienced health issues. His doctors realized too late that he had high blood pressure, which damaged his kidneys . Dr. Elliott taught in Hong Kong, China, for almost 20 years. The doctors put Elliott on a strict diet, hoping that it could improve his health . Elliott's blood pressure returned to normal, but his kidneys were still not functioning properly. "The strategy at that point was to try to maintain the kidney function at its level as long as possible," said Elliott. "Preventative types of things and diet change became part of my way of life." ' In 2003, after 20 years of living in Hong Kong, Elliott and his family moved back to the United States, hoping that Elliot's health would improve. During the 20 years after moving back from Hong Kong, Elliott became a communication professor at Cedarville University, where he teaches communication classes like lntercultural Communication and Communicat ion Theory. When Elliott received the news about his kidneys in 2021, the doctors asked him about being put on a waiting list for a kidney transplant. "To say I'm on the list is misleading because it's not really a list," said Elliott. "You're qual ified to get a kidney when it becomes ava ilable and if it matches you ." There are two ways Elliott can receive a kidney. The most common method is through someone who recently died, like in a car c rash . If the kidney matches him, Ell iott would receive a phone call from Ohio State University. Elliott would have four hours to get to OSU before the kidney loses its vitality to get the procedure done. The other method is finding somebody who would vo luntarily give Elliott their kidney. The live donor method is preferable because the kidney is in better condition and it starts working faster after the transplant. In the meantime, Elliott relies on a dialysis machine to keep his body healthy. Although his need for a kidney is urgent, Elliott ironically has trouble communicating with people to consider donating a kidney to him. "I felt confident that the doctors were taking care of the health situation, " said Elliott, "but what I couldn't do was the communication part. I did not have it in me to do that. " Professor Derrick Green, the Chair of the Communication Department, teaches a class called Virtual Communication that requires students to create a social media campaign . During the fall semester of 2022, senior Broadcasting and Digital Media major Haley Thompson and a group of students founded Deep Calls for Life to help Elliott find a kidney donor. Haley Thompson started De~p C~lls for _Life for a class project to help Dr. Elliott find a kidney donor. "It was just beyond my capabil ity to ask someone to donate their kidney to me, " said Ell iott. "The students became my advocate. They became my voice to put out the need and to make a case for stepp ing in and doing someth ing so sacrificial. That took a great burden off me because I knew it had to be done, and I knew I couldn 't do it. " Deep Calls for Life is inspired by Psalm 42 :7, "Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. Thompson said that Elliott clings onto this Bible verse during hard times. "Deep needs need deep answers and deep responses, " said Elliott in response to Deep Calls for Life 's campaign . Thompson previously took lntercultural Communication and Communication Theory with Elliott, and he taught Thompson to love and respect people and their cultures. "I longed to help Dr. Elliott in some way to show him my appreciation for everything he had done for me," sa,id Thompson . "He loves his students so deeply, and it broke my heart to think about the fact that he may n9t be 1/ able to teach much longer due to Spring 2023 Photograph provided by Chuck Elli ot Photograph of Haley Thompson by Logan Howard I
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