Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 8/9/2018
WEST SPRINGFIELD – Licensed esthetician and West Springfield resident Manny Rivera grew up as a “pretty healthy kid.” He was a bubbly boy who did well in school and only suffered from a minor asthma. However, that all changed when he turned 17.
In May 2001, Rivera was diagnosed with acute renal failure – he was told to start dialysis immediately or he wouldn’t make it through the next evening. Since that day, Rivera has refused to let his chronic illness prevent him from pursuing his dreams.
Despite undergoing two kidney transplants, one of which lasted seven years and another that exploded inside his body, Rivera has managed to work full time as an independent contractor doing nails and facials while juggling weekly dialysis. He is now gearing up to study cosmetology at Springfield Technical Community College in the hopes of one day owning his own salon.
Reminder Publications conducted a question-and-answer style interview with Rivera to learn more about his perseverance, ambition and dedication.
The following is a lightly edited version of the interview.
Reminder Publications: Walk me through how you felt on the day of your diagnosis. What was that like?
Manny Rivera:? little before April vacation in high school, I was sick with a stomach virus. My mom took me to a doctor and everything was fine. But for some reason, I didn’t get over it and I kept throwing up.
One morning, on May 1, 2001, my mom said, ‘I’m taking you to the ER because this is ridiculous – you can’t eat, you’re always nauseous and throwing up, you’re losing weight while retaining fluid. It doesn’t make sense.’
I remember I had an Italian test that day, which was my favorite class, so I was worried about missing it. My mom told me not to worry because I could retake it – she finally convinced me to go to the hospital. In less than an hour and a half at the ER, we knew it was acute renal failure.
When I got into triage and into the ER, they started drawing my blood and told me they thought I needed an IV. They sent me to do an ultra sound. It was funny – I will never forget how the lady who was doing the ultra sound on me was joking with me. She said, ‘Imagine if you’re pregnant, you’re getting bloated and those are pregnancy symptoms.’
Then the doctors started coming in. A third doctor came in and kept talking with the others and he was putting on his glasses and taking them off. At this point, I told my mom I must have cancer. I was trying to ask questions and they told us they couldn’t answer any questions until all the lab results came back.
I was back in the curtain, when at leat 8-to-10 doctors came in. My mom was at the foot of my of bed. They straight up said, ‘We’re very sorry to tell you this, but your son has acute renal failure. If we don’t do dialysis tomorrow, he will be dead by tomorrow afternoon.’
They also said they didn’t know how I had survived this long because apparently my kidneys had been shut down for a while and my body was in an extreme toxic state.
It was one of those things – my mom kept saying, ‘No, there’s a Manual Rivera a few beds down and he’s in his 80s, you must be talking about him, right?’
I just kept looking at my mom and saying this was a joke.
My mother is a full-figure woman, so she started shaking – and I have a bad tendency to make jokes at the wrong time. So, I said, ‘Hurry up and get her a chair, because if she faints it’s going to take all 10 of you to pick her up.’
The doctors didn’t even know how to react with me at that point.
My mom told them to give us a few minutes. She said, ‘you’re almost 18, you’re going to have so start making your own decisions. From now on, I’m going to ask – because in the future, it’s only you.’
So, at a very young age it was like a slap in the face. Doctors would tell my mom stuff and speak in front of me. My mom would kick them out ask me what I wanted to do. She knew the road would be tough and that it would be easier if I started to take the reigns from very early on.
I’ve always appreciated that to be honest. I really appreciate it because I learned how to make my own decisions.
Reminder Publications: What has the journey been like since you found out about your chronic illness?
Manny Rivera: With kidney failure, your body cannot excrete waste. It keeps on building in the body. For me, what happened was that my body would make me throw up. The doctors told me I was lucky in that sense because it was a way to get the waste out of my system.
It’s been a very big roller coaster since. It’s like the “Superman” ride – you think you already hit the top and you’re waiting to just go down, but then there’s always one more thing. I have just started learning how to deal with the punches as they come.
Reminder Publications: What is the current status of your condition?
Manny Rivera: I’ve been without a kidney since 2010 – which is when my last transplant failed. I currently go to dialysis three times a week for four and a half hours.
I am fully worked up for a kidney transplant. The only thing I need to do is get my dental work done. I took Prednisone for seven years in high doses for my second transplant, and that messed up my teeth. I’m looking for a dentist to do dental work and who is willing to let me pay them $150 a month until it is fully paid off. If any dentists are willing to work with me, I’m more than happy to work with them.
The other thing I’m waiting for is a signature from my dentist saying everything is fine and there are no infections. The surgeon will be ready to go once they lift that hold and hopefully the floodgates will open.
Reminder Publications: How has your experience been with your care team at Fresenius Kidney Care Pioneer Valley?
Manny Rivera: It has been very good experience with Pioneer Valley. They’ve helped me in many ways. There are times in which I’m down and say, ‘I’m not going to be able to finish this.’ I tell them I can’t go to school, have a career, work and do everything. They just let me say whatever I want and let me feel how I feel at that moment, and then they remind me that not many people have been able to finish going to dialysis, get their degrees and work at same time. So, even though I do want to do more, they remind me I’m doing more than enough – and sometimes even too much compared to other people in my situation.
I will also say I’m a control freak – even if I’m not feeling good, I prefer to do everything myself. That way, if something goes wrong, it’s my fault. So, I love them a lot, but I do drive them crazy at times.
Reminder Publications: How do you find the strength to keep going?
Manny Rivera: I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, so my relationship with God is very important to me. It doesn’t matter if you have fallen 2,000 times, it’s how many times you get up –whether physically, spiritually or any other form. Having a relationship with God has helped me a lot.
One of my main motivations to keep me going is the fact I have a niece and nephews. I just don’t want them to ever think that I quit. If I start things, I finish them. If I die, at least the legacy that I leave is that I always kept on going and never quit.
I also have a great relationship with my family. It helps when my family and friends let me have my little tantrums every so often. I might start crying or screaming –but I don’t allow myself to let that happen. When it does, I time it no longer than five minutes.
The staff at Pioneer Valley helps me – they’re like family. When something important happens in my life, I can’t wait to go back to dialysis to tell them and the other fellow WARRIORS – which is spelled in all caps. The WARRIORS are other people who are dealing with the same situation. Having other people going through the same thing helps a lot, because I think to myself, ‘if they’re going through this, I can deal with this.’ It’s about learning to keep going, no matter what’s going on.
Reminder Publications: How has this experience shaped who you are today?
Manny Rivera: I was a very passive person growing up. I used to let people walk all over me. Now, I don’t feel uncomfortable putting my foot down and saying no. It has also helped me figure out that I’m stronger than how I look and how other people perceive me.
Another aspect is that I’m also licensed esthetician. I got into my business because my skin changed a lot when I was going through this. Because of this, I took esthetics – which is facials and makeup. There have been times in which I have events and people look at me, and little do they know I learned how to do makeup well enough that they don’t know I have makeup on or that I’m sick. That helps because sometimes the pity looks – they do affect you, even though they’re coming from a place of worry or caring. They can just kill your mood.
Reminder Publications: Speaking of your business, tell me more about your professional background and your current goals.
Manny Rivera: I’ve been a licensed esthetician for the past 13 years, which means I do everything from waxing, to facials, to makeup, to chemical exfoliations. I went to school at Chameleons in Northampton. I was the first male to graduate from there and the first male Latino to have a license in Western Massachusetts as an esthetician. So, it was a very big deal for us that I got into it because of my illness.
The following year, I went ahead and got my license in nails. It has been 12 years in nails now. I wanted to hurry up and get my license in cosmetology as well, but my guidance counselor suggested I master those two fields [nails and skin] before I go into cosmetology. I’m very happy I waited so long because I feel so comfortable doing what I do now – I could give a facial with my eyes closed. When I do go back for cosmetology, which is mostly hair, I won’t have to worry about whether I might lose my abilities in nails and skin.
I currently work at Five Corner Cuts Salon in Granby. Because I’m an independent contractor, my business is called Skin and Nails by Manny at Five Corner Cuts salon. I’ve been there for the past three years. I’m the only esthetician and the only nail tech – which does suck when I’m sick and have to cancel on everyone. My clients know my situation and me very well. They understand it and respect it, and tell me to go get better. It makes me feel much more appreciated when people understand that I am dealing with something.
In September, I hope to start cosmetology at STCC – which is where I graduated from with a marketing degree last year. It took 10 years to graduate. I took a year off after. I was going to go straight into cosmetology but I needed a break for once.
My future goals are to not only go for cosmetology, but to also go for barbery and get my CIDESCO [Comité International d'Esthétique et de Cosmétologie], which is the the international license of skin. My other goal is to own a salon and to be able to have fun doing it – and when that’s not fun anymore, I’ll move on to something else.
Reminder Publications: How do you balance juggling your career and school with taking time to care for your health?
Manny Rivera: I don’t know. On top of everything, I also drive for Lyft. My sister calls me the number one hustler she knows – I tell her to take out the word hustler and say ‘business person.’ It really is a hustle though, you just learn how much you can push your body without it falling apart. So, when I can’t do something, I’ve learned to be ok with that and know that my clients will be ok with that.
Reminder Publications: Lastly, what advice would you give to someone in a similar situation?
Manny Rivera: The advice I’d give is to people is to be open and to not hide things. People are more understanding than you think and they have more sympathy than what they show sometimes.
I’d also tell them to have faith in God – if they’re atheist I wish them good luck. If you’re an atheist going through this, at one point or another you’re going to scream, ‘Oh, God, help me!’ So, have a good relationship with Him because it does help.