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Retired Principal Needs a New Kidney

 Retired Brooklyn principal Brent Carrington is seeking a kidney donor after his diagnosis of end-stage renal disease has forced him to take weekly dialysis treatments.
Retired Brooklyn principal Brent Carrington is seeking a kidney donor after his diagnosis of end-stage renal disease has forced him to take weekly dialysis treatments.
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DNAinfo/Camille Bautista

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Brent Carrington’s active lifestyle came to an unexpected halt this year when his weekly swimming sessions turned into dialysis appointments.

The retired Brooklyn principal, who spent much of his life scuba diving, skiing, and traveling, could barely make it up the steps in his Bedford-Stuyvesant home.

“I had gone to the very, very end before I went on dialysis. I think I was dangerously close to the end,” Carrington, 68, said.

After suffering through kidney disease before a 2015 diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, his kidneys failed, requiring the thrice-a-week treatment and placement on an organ transplant list, he said.

Days spent diving off the shores of Barbados or gliding over Pennsylvania were cut short, as the end-stage renal disease means he’ll have to be on dialysis for the rest of his life unless a transplant comes through.

Carrington is now seeking a live donor to help him get back to a normal routine, saying that the waitlist for cadaver transplant could take several years.

“I’ve lived a good life, I’ve traveled, I’ve eaten well, I’ve had my career. But I’m used to living actively and I want to get back to living the type of life that I have enjoyed living," he said.

Carrington inherited his love of travel from his father, a local physician in central Brooklyn who took his family out of the country every summer.

The Bed-Stuy resident spent his career in East New York’s school District 19, starting as a teacher who would eat with kids during lunchtime, among other things, he said.

“It was extra, but I didn’t see it as extra,” Carrington said. “I saw it as, this is what the school needed, it’s what you do.”

He worked six years as an assistant principal and acting principal at P.S. 213, and another 16 years as principal of P.S. 214 until his 2003 retirement.

Also serving on the Council of School Supervisors & Administrators, Carrington was always “one of the good guys,” said his partner and fellow principal Ingrid Mason.

“East New York is not an easy place to be a principal but he was able to last a long time, he was really good at collaborating, building a team. He’s very inclusive,” Mason said.

“He loves to experience life. Brent’s belief is about living life to the fullest and taking the best out of each day. He keeps a very positive outlook, and he puts no limitations on himself or those around him.”

Mason has accompanied him on several trips, Carrington said, but this year marks the first time in 15 years where he hasn’t been out of the country due to his diagnosis and treatment.

From skiing in Europe to skydiving, he spent every summer and winter school break seeking to “experience the adventure of places,” he said.

Now, skis sit unused at his Macon Street home, amid mementos from his world travels, including a living room filled with souvenirs and photos from Thailand, Jamaica, Spain, and England.

Following radiation therapy and the quickened decline of his kidneys, Carrington’s life took a 180-degree turn as he became weaker and weaker.

“I was totally fatigued, I could not put on a shirt, I could not bathe myself, I couldn’t eat,” he said.

“At one time I was trying to put food on a fork and I was shaking, and it would come off.”

Still, Carrington’s resolve remained strong through his hospitalizations and blood transfusions, Mason said.

“He was knocked off his feet, literally. But now he’s just gotten up and through it all, even in the hospital, he was still cracking jokes,” she said.

While his life is now organized around dialysis appointments, Carrington said he remains optimistic and hopes for a donor, adding that he’s now able to drive again and exercise by walking.

“I look forward to living a full life again," he said.