Alfredo Lucero, a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, was diagnosed with kidney failure in 1993. He was only 27.

The diagnosis wasn't good news. Most people die within five years of going on dialysis treatment for kidney disease.

But Lucero, 42, has survived despite the odds. He got his life together after being sent to jail for drunk-driving incidents in his 30s.

"Everything happens for a reason," he tells The Arizona Daily Star. "Sometimes you need to be put in check and you learn from it."

Lucero, who's also of Tohono O'odham and Mexican heritage, is making an effort to help youth in Yoem Pueblo, a Yaqui village where he lives. Friends and family see him as a community leader.

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'I've had my share of troubles' (The Arizona Daily Star 10/3)