‘Second chance at life’: ‘Kidney swap’ kept Hollywood actor from Kansas City alive
Erron Jay is thankful to be alive. The south Kansas City native was diagnosed with Stage 4 renal disease, a potentially fatal diagnosis. A kidney was not functional, he was told. A transplant was necessary. It could take years to find a possible match. He thought death was near. But friends rallied and he decided to fight.
After some starts and stops, Erron Jay underwent a successful kidney transplant last week. Both he and a donor are recovering.
“I saw him this morning,” said Erron Jay’s longtime friend, Amy Kenney. “It’s been a great day. He’s healing.”
The affable Erron Jay is a 1998 graduate of Hickman Mills High School and an actor with several Hollywood film and television credits. He was quick to name his new organ.
“Checking in!,” he wrote in a social media post one day after surgery. “Me and Kidney ‘Bean’ Bryant are getting along well. Got up and did a few laps around the floor this morning! I appreciate you all so so very much!”
The 41-year-old actor, born Erron J. Shaw, returned to the area last year from Los Angeles to address a serious health ailment. Blackout spells caused by high blood pressure sent him to an emergency room, where doctors discovered he suffered from a chronic kidney disease.
That Erron Jay found a donor is a small miracle. And it doesn’t tell the entire story. Kenney was a match for her lifelong friend but at 5 feet, 3 inches tall, she is about a foot shorter than the 6-foot-3-inch actor. The smaller kidney would be strained in Erron Jay’s body, doctors told her.
The two friends became what is known as paired donors, a pay-it-forward type organ exchange. Kenney, a donor, was matched with someone in need of a kidney. Another donor was matched with a fourth person and that recipient’s friend was matched with Erron Jay. Six people were included in the kidney swap: three donors and three recipients.
With help from Kenney and others, Erron Jay helped save lives, including his own.
“The process was very eye-opening,” Kenney said days before her scheduled surgery on Friday.
Medical bills continue to rise for Erron Jay. Insurance will cover a portion of the $500,000 procedure and aftercare. A Kidney For Erron Jay GoFundMe campaign and online auction have raised $53,000 to assist. Any additional amount donated helps, Erron Jay says. He wants to advocate for others facing a similar prognosis in Kansas City’s urban core before resuming his career in LA.
“I have so much more I want to do,” he said days before the procedure.
At times, LA was tough for Erron Jay, who appeared in one of AT&T’s most iconic swag commercials released about 10 years ago.
The promotional bit touting the Motorola Backflip phone featured a pair of stylishly-dressed actors dubbed “Fly” and “Errrr.” The role was a perfect fit for the dapper Erron Jay, who studied theater at Missouri State University and as an MFA student at DePaul University in Chicago. He relocated to California in the mid-2000s.
Dialysis followed Erron Jay’s diagnosis. He underwent the excruciating procedure three times a week for hours. Blood was drawn from the body, he says, cleaned, and pumped back in through a needle. Each time, he slept for hours to regain strength.
Erron Jay plans to return to California in 2022. “I have a second chance at life,” Erron Jay said. “I can’t stop now.”
To help Erron Jay offset medical costs, friends organized a fundraising campaign. To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/f/kidney4erronjay.
