Donald Dotson receives life saving gift from only child
LAS CRUCES – Alexis Dotson is the definition of a successful young woman.
The Las Cruces High alumnus has multiple college degrees and is two years into a promising career in an NFL front office with the Washington Commanders.
Dotson’s name may sound familiar to area high school and college sports fans.
She was one of the top female athletes to have come out of Las Cruces, leading the Las Cruces High softball team to a 30-1 record and the school's first state championship in softball in 2013.
She went on to become a junior college All-American at Pima Junior College and played three seasons at Division I softball powerhouse Arizona.
The 27-year-old Dotson is in her second season as Player Development Assistant as the only woman in the team's department with the Washington Commanders while completing her Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies at Howard.
On a trip home for the holidays last winter, Dotson’s father, former New Mexico State basketball player and 37-year Gadsden Independent School District administrator and coach, Donald Dotson, told her he needed a kidney transplant.
Alexis Dotson stepped up and decided to put her future aspirations on hold to make a sacrifice that most of us tell ourselves we would make for a loved one — she volunteered her kidney as a living donor.
“I am forever indebted to her,” said Donald Dotson, 67, who underwent kidney transplant surgery July 5 at Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso with his daughter serving as a living donor. “She saved my life.”
While her lifestyle will change Alexis Dotson didn’t hesitate to become her father’s living donor.
“People are always coming up and telling him that they were his student at Gadsden and Santa Teresa and that happens still,” Alexis Dotson said. “The day before surgery, he ran into a former student. He made a lasting impact everywhere he goes.
“It was a way to repay him for everything, but also to do it for all of the people that he has impacted along the way. If there was ever anyone who is leaving a legacy, it’s my dad, and it all starts off with his smile.”
'I was overwhelmed'
Donald Dotson doesn’t recall an exact diagnosis of kidney disease, but dozing off around the house was a common occurrence in recent months.
Donald Dotson had high blood pressure and diabetes for the past 20 years. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1 in 7 adults in the U.S., or 35.5 million adults, are estimated to have Chronic Kidney Disease.
Dotson said he noticed a drastic change in his health in April of 2022 following his fourth COVID-19 booster shot.
“My kidney function dropped to the point where I knew I needed to do something drastic,” he said. “If I could get a transplant, it would be the best thing because dialysis is so hard on the body. The timeline for a transplant is unknown though because they have a point system where you have to be on dialysis for so long to get a kidney if you don’t have a living donor, so some people are on the list for two or three years. I just happen to be blessed with a superhuman daughter.”
Alexis Dotson said she was the last to know that her father needed a kidney transplant and that her family never broached the topic of determining if she was a viable donor.
Donating was among the first things that crossed her mind.
“I had come home for Christmas break and was about to leave,” Alexis Dotson said. “My dad called me into the room and all he told me was, ‘I just want to let you know I need a kidney transplant and I have an appointment in January at the transplant center.’”
Alexis Dotson returned home to the East Coast to begin what would be an extensive process despite her father’s concerns.
“She’s my twin so I was really reluctant,” Donald Dotson said. “I’ve lived a good life, but Jesus had to convince me that she was going to be alright and live a normal life, have kids and have no issues.
“I was overwhelmed. The more she talked about it and getting doctors and other people, that got me to see that it was normal.”
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Support system
The process to determine if Alexis Dotson was a viable donor for her father was a long one and went far beyond a matching blood type.
While both father and daughter went through months of testing, Donald Dotson’s process was far more extensive.
“I went through a lot of lab work,” he said. “The first time I went, they took 38 tubes of blood. There was a lot of education. They have classes you have to attend and they talk to you about everything that you needed to know.”
Alexis Dotson did the majority of her blood work in Washington D.C., but came to El Paso to undergo further testing. She also met with several specialists including a dietician and social worker.
Aguirre took over and presented their case to a transplant committee where, when approved, the surgery was scheduled.
"I coordinate all of their care and I'm there to support them," Aguirre said. "We want donors to know that we support their decision no matter what. If they change their mind in the middle of process, the recipient is not removed from the list because the donor is coming forward to have a surgery that they don't need. The social worker also helps them get mentally prepared."
Donald Dotson also had his own network of folks who had gone through a kidney transplant, including the father of a Washington Commanders player that Alexis put him in touch with, as well as a cousin and former New Mexico State teammate Louis Saucedo.
"I had three people who had gone through the procedure that I could talk to," Donald Dotson said. "All three are doing extremely well. They just told me to follow the regiment and do what I'm supposed to do."
According to Las Palmas Kidney Transplant Center Living Donor Coordinator Isabel Aguirre, successful kidney transplants from a living donor survive between 15-20 years or more while deceased donor transplant survival is up to 10 years.
The average waiting time if there is not a living donor in the region is between five and six years with the patient undergoing dialysis treatment while they wait. The mortality rate for a patient who has been on dialysis for five years or longer is 60%.
"The benefits of a living donor is it's a better genetic match, the kidney is out of the body for less time and it's a planned procedure versus a waiting list where they don't know when they will be called," Aguirre said. "The two more common causes for kidney disease is diabetes and high blood pressure, which are prevalent in our community."
Surgery day
Donald Dotson checked into the hospital on the afternoon of the Fourth of July.
"The closer the surgery got, the higher my blood pressure got," he said. "I started at two in the morning and my blood pressure was 220 over 200 and it kept getting higher and the surgery time was 7 a.m."
The donor undergoes surgery first; however, before Alexis Dotson's three-hour surgery started, she needed to see her father.
"I really didn't cry for a long time, and when I finally heard my dad's voice is when it finally clicked," Alexis Dotson said. "I think seeing him there is when it hit and I couldn't hold it anymore. I knew if one of my parents saw me cry they were going to get emotional too so I tried to act like I was blowing my nose, but my mom saw and my dad was already crying."
The left kidney is the most common to be removed by the donor, as was the case for Alexis Dotson. Donald Dotson's procedure took nearly four hours. As soon as she was able, Alexis Dotson lobbied her nurses to allow her to see her father.
"I know that he was still under anesthesia and he just had major surgery, but the first time I saw him, he looked so vulnerable, but one of the first things he did was try to reach his hand out," Alexis Dotson said. "I felt bad but I told him I couldn't hold his hand. I just told him that, 'I want you to know that I'm OK.' He kept telling me, thank you, and I said, 'I would do this again.'"
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Road to recovery
Alexis Dotson said she was pleased to hear that she did not punch a nurse, as she often would react as such when awoken suddenly.
Instead, she treated those attending to her recovery to her renditions of Lauryn Hill's "Killing Me Softly" and any number of Selena songs.
It was also during her first two hours out of surgery where the former Division I athlete's stubbornness and drive showed up. Normally, donors would stay for up to three nights following surgery, but Alexis Dotson shaved that number to a single night by walking laps around her floor to show she was able to go home.
But first, she wanted to check on her dad.
"I finally got the OK to see him because I'm pretty sure one of his first thoughts would be if I was OK," Alexis Dotson said. "I know that will bring him some ease and help him out."
According to Aguirre, there is always the risk of rejection due to the medications the recipient must take, so the first three months are the most critical.
"I'm in a bubble at home for at least three months," Donald Dotson said. "There are no large crowds, I can't eat anything that is not prepared at home and only drink bottled water. Only my caregivers can be in the house and I can go for a walk, but I have to wear a mask at all times."
Donald Dotson's caregivers are wife, Angie, and sister Pamela Dotson.
Angie Dotson is a retired educator who was the principal at Camino Middle School for 13 years and the assistant principal at Mayfield.
"She's the backbone," Donald Dotson said. "I feel for her. She is a trooper. I have the best wife on earth. She put me on the straight and narrow."
Like her father, Alexis Dotson's life will never be the same, but she knew that when she signed up.
"It will be easier for me to get diabetes, which runs in my family," Alexis Dotson said. "It will be easier for me to get into more trouble. I just have to be more aware. I know the decision that I made and there are things I can control and take care of and I can't worry about the things that are not in my control."
Donald Dotson is a common visitor to New Mexico State basketball games and will continue to do so, thanks to the gift from his only child.
"I've gotten a great response from a lot of people in the community," Donald Dotson said. "I got a lot of prayers, calls from all types of people within the community like ex-players, students and coworkers. It feels good to know that people care."
Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @jpgroves.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Donald Dotson receives life saving gift from daughter, Alexis Dotson
