Richard Salick was a professional athlete who received his first kidney transplant at the age of 23. He not only recovered from his transplant but returned to his professional surfing career. Rich provided hope and encouragement to countless patients with kidney disease. He dedicated his life to serving the kidney community, raising millions of dollars for the National Kidney Foundation. The Rich Salick Scholarship was established in 2013 to provide financial assistance for college students with kidney disease who have demonstrated Rich’s commitment to service. Congratulations to the 2023 scholarship recipient, Cade Kendall!
Cade is a high school senior and plans to attend the University of Central Florida, majoring in architecture. His journey with CKD began in the summer of 2019 when he was diagnosed with nephronophthisis. A few short months later, he was placed on the transplant list for a new kidney. Over the next three years, his kidney function continued to decline, requiring frequent medical care. One of the hardest parts of his diagnosis was that he had to stop playing lacrosse abruptly, right before his travel team left for an important out-of-state trip.
Despite his health struggles, he remained on the honor roll and dedicated over 50 hours of service to raising awareness, funding, hope, and support for patients with kidney disease. He also discovered a love for golf and has played four years on the Varsity golf team which helped him with both physical and mental challenges. Cade received a living donor transplant in May of this year. Like Rich, he plans to use his experience with kidney disease to continue to give back to the community. Cade says “I plan to use my experiences to support teens suffering from CKD as they go through the same struggles that I did. I also plan to continue fundraising efforts and promote organ donation so that other kids can have a new chance at life like I do.”
