Carl Lumpkin’s Journey & Road to recovery :

I’ve been a devout Christian my entire life. I gave my life to Christ in 1982 when I was baptized at
age 13. I would later be baptized again in the Jordan River in 2016 on a trip to Israel with Calvary
Chapel Costa Mesa. My mother and I attended this trip to Israel with Pastor Chet Lowe and Pastor
Brian Brodersen. This experience solidified my faith and oneness with God. I now believe traveling
to Israel was God’s preparation for the challenging health journey that would impact my physical
strength, my abilities, my faith and my life as I knew it.

In 1987, at the age of 17, I felt a desire and a duty to serve in The United States Marine Corp (USMC).
One day after school, I went to the recruiter’s office to sign up, but due to me being a minor, I was
instructed to get permission from my mother. She proudly granted permission for my enlistment
into the U.S. Marine Corp. I joined boot camp in October 1987, two (2) months before my 1 8th
birthday.

Once my tour-of-duty ended, I returned to the United States and sought employment. Considering
how I enjoyed being in the military, I decided a career in law enforcement would be the next step, so
I applied for deputy sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. I graduated
from the LASD Sheriff’s Academy in 1999. After several years of searching for a church home, I
found Calvary Chapel South Bay (CCSB), in 2003, by listening to K-Wave. While attending CCSB, I
started volunteering with the crisis hotline to assist callers who were having family issues and
needed prayer. Due to my work hours, I worked on the crisis hotline in the evenings.

To date, I am empLoyed as a Deputy Sheriff (Lieutenant) with Los Angeles County Sheriff
Department (LASD). It has been such an enjoyable career for many reasons. Early in my career, I
worked as a drill instructor at the S.T.A.R.S. Training Academy located in Whittier, California where I
instructed academy recruits in physical fitness, laws governing an arrest, search and seizure,
standards of conduct for LA County Sheriff’s deputies, health & safety codes, vehicle codes, etc. It
has always been of utmost importance to teach recruits or anyone wanting to become better, the
reward in pursuing excellence in every endeavor. As such, my chosen career path has been a very
rewarding experience.

During a rigorous application process, I was blessed to be selected to participate in the University
of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business through the University of Southern California’s
Master of Business for Veterans (MBV) program. This experience prepared me to become a better
leader, supervisor, and more well-rounded.

In February 2020, I married the love of my life. We dated for some time, and I finally realized I
wanted her by my side and to care for her for a lifetime. As members of Calvary Chapel South Bay,
we were fortunate to take premarital classes. We met for 5 weeks with Pastor Dwight who also
officiated over our wedding ceremony at Calvary Chapel South Bay.

The Battle:

During the last months of our 1st year as husband and wife, I started to experience a frequency to
urinate. I met with my doctor and was misdiagnosed. For months, I was being evaluated for urinary
problems, as my kidney function began to decline. Doctors weren’t certain why my kidneys were
beginning to fail. After some time, I met with a specialist who performed an extensive battery of
testing, and it was discovered I was suffering with Multiple Myeloma which is a blood (bone
marrow), disease. Multiple Myeloma can, in some cases, attack the kidneys and the back. Multiple
Myeloma attacked my kidneys.

By the time doctors realized the cause of my declining kidney function, I had to be rushed to ER and
admitted to the hospital and placed on dialysis for 3-4hours per session, 3 times a week. I didn’t
have time to even think about options. My wife and I were devastated.

I started dialysis on April 25, 2022. That day my life changed forever. At the start of dialysis, I was in
denial about the Multiple Myeloma, but that began to change as I watched my weight drop within a
matter of weeks, by 40 lbs. It was nothing  I could do to stop it.

Prior to this, my wife and I, while we dated and after marriage, would run together and do strength
training exercises. This too, ended abruptly. I had no energy or strength to do much. Between the
nausea from the chemotherapy & immunotherapy injections and the nausea that occurs in stage 5 renal
patients, I lacked an appetite and became very weak.

On March 4, 2024, I received a stem cell transplant that eradicated the Multiple Myeloma. Praise
God!!! It was a journey to recovery which had taken approximately 100+ days to regain most of my
strength. I still cannot run, and I can’t walk too fast without getting tired. Weighttifting is out of the
question.

It is my prayer that someone will bless me with a kidney. I would love to regain my health and
wellness. I have no desire to retire from the job I enjoy but at times, it’s difficult to balance my
career with my health challenges. Dialysis takes its toll on my body and mind.

It is my hope that I can get a kidney donor. I would love to run again and continue on the path my
health crisis caused me to deviate from.

Thank you for your time and listening to my story.
Carl Lumpkin.