“Every hard thing is perspective to make you better.” says AJ Coulter. AJ would know. He receives dialysis three times a week to help keep him alive as he awaits a potential kidney transplant.
AJ was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). 33% of adults in the U.S. are at risk for kidney disease, but most of them don’t know it. AJ shares his story and how kidney disease saved him after playing football at NE Oklahoma & Oklahoma State.
As a comedian, AJ has embraced his FSGS and includes it in his comedy set. “The best comedy is telling your own story” AJ says with energy and good humor. “Originally I study engineering in college. But I realized in later years I never really had a passion for it. I had some amazing jobs in oil and gas over the years and there was no real purpose there. But I’ve always been great at meeting and marketing myself to people. Even after my kidneys failed I’ve always been interested in learning more about people and how they interact. And that played into my comedy well. I’m a loving genuine guy, from a small town so I just try to love everybody. And with my comedy I just have a story to tell and I want to save lives through that.”
Connect with AJ through Facebook or Instagram. Checkout the ABC15 Arizona News Story featuring AJ. Most important, take the 8 question quiz to find out if you have symptoms of kidney disease.
