“I was an organ donor until I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2005. Eventually, I was told I would need a kidney. The combination of the diabetes and all of the medications I had to take for high blood pressure led to kidney problems.”
“I was on dialysis for a year. I just went along with the program. I’d take my music — gospel one day, hip-hop or blues the next — and just listen. I’d listen to Robin Thicke singing ‘you know you want it, you know you want it’ a lot.”
“I wouldn’t let the dialysis get me down. I kept a good attitude because I know that helps. I told them I had plenty of time later to lie down and stay down.”
“Before the transplant, I was weak some days and some days were good. During dialysis, sometimes I felt like they were drawing too much blood and I looked like a raisin. I lost so much weight, from 218 pounds to 170. I prayed the Lord would change this.”
“The transplant process was OK. I told them, ‘Y’all know what y’all are doing,’ and I put them in God’s hands. I put my trust in the doctor — he was so sweet and called me his star patient. And I was.
“With the surgery, I had no fears at all. I told them, ‘If it’s my time, there I go. If it ain’t my time, I’ll be here.’ When I woke up after the surgery, I thought, ‘Well, I must be worth saving.’”
“My recovery lasted about two weeks. I’m back driving and planting my flowers, and I barbecued on Labor Day. We had ribs, pork chops, smoked sausage, collard greens, candied yams and deviled eggs. My appetite isn’t all the way back, but it’s getting there.”
“My donor is so sweet. I thank him all the time, and I told his parents, ‘Thank you for having that baby for me.’ God was looking out for me.”
“I’m 73 years old, but I don’t look it. My doctors want me to go back to the dialysis place to show the other patients how good I’m doing.”
“After the surgery, I noticed I could get around better. I don’t get out of breath as quick, and I can walk farther. I don’t have to sit down when I go shopping now.”
“I’m so happy to be a part of this chain. I went to the picnic and met a lot of the others and had a good time.”
“I wanted to help others by being an organ donor, and then I got diabetes. It makes me feel good knowing others wanted to help me.”