USD Magazine Summer 2022

TORERO NEWS USD MAGAZINE

E N R I Q U E A L VA R A D O

[ c o m p a d r e s ]

Seeing their easy affection, it’s not surprising — but still impres- sive — that when her friend need- ed one of her body’s organs, Cuel- lar was on it. That’s what you do when your bro needs you. As far as he could tell, in mid- 2020 Gonzales was in perfect health. Still, his job as a nurse practitioner required an annual wellness check. He noticed some- thing off with his kidney function on his lab work, but assumed it was just a fluke. It wasn’t. A biopsy revealed he had focal segmental glomerulo- sclerosis (FSGS), a rare disease

F R OM O N E B R O T O A N O T H E R Friendship grows deeper after lifesaving gift by Julene Snyder I

t’s easy to sense when people have been friends for a long time. For one thing, there’s an easy banter that only comes from decades of closeness. “Bro! We were just talking about that time when you and your daughter brought me lunch when I was

at work at the hospital,” Joe Gonzales ’19 (MSN) exclaims. “She was only three then, and now she’s all grown up in college.” “I know, bro! It’s crazy!,” re- sponds Amanda Cuellar ’11 (MSN), ’19 (MSN) with infectious delight. When asked to talk about their

20-year-plus friendship, the two interrupt each other. “He’d go with me and my kids when we did back-to-school shopping,” offers Cuellar. “He talks to my dad more often than I do!” “Bro, you’re not lying,” Gonzales says.

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