Every Day Is a Blessing
/Chad Moore found new life through rare kidney disease and the COVID-19 pandemic
by ELLEN ORR
“I like to call it ‘Post-Traumatic Success Disorder,’” said Chad, a kidney transplant recipient and higher education professional at Texarkana College. “Real PTSD is when something bad happens, and your mind is altered [by the trauma]. But ever since [my kidney disease] happened, I just—well, once you cheat death once, there’s really nothing else to be scared of. There’s really no other excuse why you can’t be brave. I don’t have any excuse to go through life not knowing who I am or not knowing what my purpose is. A lot of times, I feel like my positivity can come off as a little delusional, but I can’t help it. This is my outlook in life. Like, I was almost out of here, and I’m still here, and every day is a blessing.”
Chaddrick “Chad” Moore was raised in Texarkana by his parents, George and Carolyn Moore. “Education legends here in town,” Chad said of his parents (George was a principal and assistant superintendent at TISD for almost 50 years, and Carolyn served as a school counselor for 38). Many people assumed that Chad would follow in their footsteps and work in K-12 education, but Chad never could see himself working with children or teens. “My dad’s like The Family Channel,” he said. “I’m more like HBO—I’m more for adults.”
After graduating from Texas High School in 2005, Chad attended Texarkana College for a year before transferring to Stephen F. Austin, where he earned a degree in psychology, with a minor in business. He had no clue what career he wanted to pursue.
“I was an extremely late bloomer,” Chad said. “My confidence level wasn’t high enough back then to really just go for the things that I wanted, so I just got my degree and just worked at Harte Hanks Call Center. It really was everything that happened with my kidney that woke me up.”
In February 2012, Chad fell ill. After multiple examinations, tests, and finally a biopsy, he was diagnosed with Goodpasture Syndrome, a rare kidney disease that affects approximately 1 in every 2 million people. Chad spent the spring at CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System, where his medical team worked to control his antibody levels and blood pressure. In April, he was released to go home, but he had to spend up to six hours per day at the dialysis center (“I turned 25 in the dialysis chair,” he recalled). He was put on a strict renal diet—no more than 16 ounces of liquid per day, no more than 2500 milligrams of sodium (or one piece of pizza’s worth) per day. In September, it was confirmed that an out-of-town cousin would be able to donate his kidney, and on October 31, 2012, Chad received the transplant at the University of Cincinnati Health Center. He was home in time for Thanksgiving. “[After the transplant] my mom and my aunt were like, ‘Wow, Chad, you finally have color in your face again. Your hair is finally moisturized. Life has come back into you.’
“It was definitely a long process,” Chad reflected, “but I just felt so positive about it all. I just knew that it was only temporary. Since it all lasted nine months, I call it my rebirth.”
In January 2013, with the help of family friend and past president of the college Dr. James Henry Russell, Chad applied to work in the financial aid office at Texarkana College. After two weeks, he was transitioned to the Admissions and Recruitment team—a much better fit for someone with an outgoing personality. “I’ve been grateful because I love connecting with the students and being in the mix of people. And,” he laughed, “when I was sitting in Financial Aid, I was behind a cubicle, so I was wasting a lot of really fly, good outfits.”
Chad, currently the Educational Opportunity Center Coordinator of Virtual Services, has been at TC ever since. In the last year, however, his professional life has begun to shift in new and exciting ways. In 2019, he earned his MBA, and in Spring 2020, he took on additional roles and responsibilities at the college.
“I have always loved my job because I love serving people and the community,” Chad said, “but my passion has always been creativity. I wanted to be a singer and music producer in my twenties, and that wasn’t going to happen, but I knew I wanted to express myself somehow, someway.” Though he was happy in his role at the EOC, Chad felt something was missing.
“About a year ago, I thought to myself, ‘I need to really start taking my career to the next level,’ but in what way? I couldn’t figure it out,” Chad recalled. “So I’d say, ‘After my master’s degree, I’m going to really try to figure out what it is that I need to do.’ And then the pandemic hit, and then we’re all in quarantine, and then we’re all sheltered in place.” He felt stuck.
In March, a hidden opportunity presented itself. As a Chamber of Commerce ambassador, Chad received an email from the Chamber, requesting that the ambassadors submit videos of themselves in their work-from-home setups. Not one to do the bare minimum, Chad crafted a clip that was “a whole little production,” he laughed. He showed it to his Director, Lee Williams III, who then began commissioning videos for the office. “Little videos here and there turned into producing the virtual graduation, which turned into shooting videos for other departments and working with the Public Relations Office,” Chad said. Since August, alongside his work in the EOC, Chad has produced one or two videos each week.
“It’s been the greatest thing ever,” he said. “This is a very new thing for me, and I had zero portfolio, zero skills, and zero practice. The fact that place of employment has given me the opportunity to not only produce videos and create content for them, but to hone my skills right there in real time—that’s the best gift ever. It has officially reawakened my creative spirit.”