SAN ANTONIO — July 2019 came with a strong possibility of life's final chapter for Dario Ramos. The 46-year-old father of three left the hospital for Father's Day in Chicago against the doctor's wishes.
Ramos thought that he was strong enough to move from Illinois to Texas by July. He collapsed inside the car on the trip and was rushed to the hospital.
"I thought I was going to die, but I didn't die," he said. "I was in a coma for a week."
The former KENS 5 photojournalist survived his scare with death. But he required dialysis three times a week, and doctors said he needed a kidney transplant.
"I lost my mom when I was pretty young," Maria Ramos said. "And to see my only parent going through stuff like that was it was hard."
Maria wanted to become a kidney donor for her father, and he was against the idea.
"I don't want your kidney. I don't want your kidney. You're going to need it," he said.
His only daughter won that argument to become a match for her father. On March 3, 2021, she gave her father a new chance at life with one of her kidneys.
"I did. But I mean, it's what I had to do," she said.
According to United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), last year saw 41,354 organ transplants (liver, heart, and kidney)---a record-breaking number. UNOS said it was a nearly six percent jump from 2020.
While there's a celebration for an uptick in transplants, UNOS said organ donations decreased for the 11th consecutive year.
"When I came through, my daughter was sitting by my side," Ramos said.
By the time the Ramos got ready to give thanks for the life-saving operation in March, the father had sprung an idea on his daughter and sons, Aidan and Dario Jr.
"Like, what do you mean you're going to Ukraine?" Maria asked.
Ramos committed to a journey as a freelance photographer to cover stories connected to the crisis in Ukraine. He left at the end of March.
"My trip was amazing," he said. "I learned a lot."
The San Antonio-based photographer said he was stunned at the number of women and children refugees he saw in Poland.
"They were giving them clothes, diapers, water," he said.
His story search took him to Ukraine, where he said it took hours to get in. According to Ramos, blaring sirens could go off at any time. He took a screenshot of the multiple notices on his cell phone.
"You realize. Oh, my God, what did I do when I decided to come here?" he said. "By that time, it's too late, man; you're in it."
Six thousand three hundred miles away in San Antonio, his children were supportive but worried. Maria said it was a significant health test for her father where he knew no one.
"Because after giving him a kidney, it kind of worried me a little more," she said.
Ramos made it back to San Antonio Wednesday night. Seeing the war-ravaged country, meeting its survivors up close, and watching people trying to live in normalcy under attack are stories he said no one can ever take from him.
Neither is the story of the organ that would become a passport to pursue his passion.
"How do you thank somebody-- (who)gives you a piece of their body?" he said.