“I was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus and depression at the age of 12, and a few years later I was told I had to take medication for high blood pressure. The steroids I had to take for my lupus deteriorated my right hip bone, and I had to have a fibular graft in May of 2015.
“When I was 19, I woke up one morning and my face was unrecognizable because of the amount of fluid in my body. I went to the doctor several times, and I was treated for urinary tract infections each time, assuming it was a lupus flare-up. I was prescribed medication and sent home.
“The next day I went to my rheumatologist in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and he ran numerous tests to find out what was wrong with me. While my mom and I were on our way back home to Natchez, Mississippi, the rheumatologist called her and told her to get me to an emergency room as soon as possible because my kidneys had failed.
“On November 3, 2011, I had my first dialysis treatment at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg. I didn’t know what dialysis treatment was, so I wasn’t worried. I thought when I left the hospital the treatments would be over. When I learned that I would be on dialysis until I received a kidney, I was devastated.
“I was already on Mississippi’s and Louisiana’s kidney transplant lists when my mom and I came to UAB Hospital in July of 2015 for my kidney evaluation. That was when we learned about the UAB kidney chain.
“When we understood the details, we looked at each other in awe. We already knew we weren’t a match, but I did not want my mom to give a kidney because I did not want to see her go through the pain. My mother did not listen to me though, because she went behind my back and made an appointment for an evaluation. I did not know about her appointment until the night before she was supposed to fly to Birmingham. She called me one day and yelled in my ear, ‘Kendra! I’m on the list!’ We started yelling, crying and praising God. I was beyond happy.
“Though I had already been waiting for a kidney for four and a half years, I just kept waiting patiently to get the call from UAB hoping it was going to be at least less than two more years of waiting. I kept praying for a kidney to come before Christmas 2015, but little did I know God had more in store for me. He was telling me the whole time to just be patient and let Him work his miracles. In February of 2016, my mom took me to Chili’s, one of my favorite restaurants, and while we were eating our appetizer, she pulled out a small gift box and told me she had been thinking about me. I opened the box and the letter inside was something that was going to change my life forever. The letter read ‘CONGRATULATIONS, POODY!!! God has answered our prayers. We have a match. Surgery is scheduled April 7, 2016.’ I cried puddles of tears of joy right in the middle of Chili’s. Everyone was staring at me, but I didn’t care. My loving mother was going to give a kidney so that I could receive one. It was so surreal. The entire night that I received my good news, I could not sleep at all.
“My birthday was April 5, which was the day I flew to Birmingham. Then on April 6, I checked into UAB, and I was so happy. I was smiling so hard all day long that my cheeks were aching. On April 7, right before my surgery, Dr. Jayme Locke — the best surgeon ever, by the way — asked if I had any special requests. My special requests were that I wouldn’t get any staples in my incision, and I asked her if she could take a picture of the kidney. She did both for me.
“My kidney donor is Nicholas Whitten. He is an amazing person, and I am so thankful that he was able to give me the gift of life. I promise to take care of ‘Cydney the Kidney’ — yes, I named her — forever and ever to the best of my abilities.
“My life motto is and has always been “What God has for me, it is for me.”