"I gave for my friend Franck Southon. I remember when I first found out he needed a kidney. I went to his house and saw the dialysis and I just asked, 'Who’s doing that?' His wife later told me it was Franck. So I told her they should think about transplant, and I told her I would do it. I said, ‘I can be a donor. I can be his donor.’"Our family has known Franck for a long time because our son, Jayme, swam with him at the University of Alabama. Franck is just an awesome person, and I wanted to help him.
"I know you can live with one kidney. I just thought if I died, I didn’t want mine to go to waste. That’s what I was thinking. Franc has two kids, and I didn’t want to see those kids grow up without a father. I wanted to give someone a chance. I wanted to give Franck a chance.
"He is such a polite and caring person. He’s a good father; he loves his kids. He’s a hard worker. He’s an excellent swimmer. He cares about people. How could you not want to try and help someone like that?
"Franck would have been on a lot longer waiting list if he had not had this opportunity, and it starts to worry you as his friend — how long can he go? He’s got a young family. I couldn’t comprehend those kids losing their father.
"The great thing about this particular transplant is that this isn’t only helping Franck. I was able to help Estella Floyd, too. That’s phenomenal for me. I’m so happy, so happy for both of them. I knew I had a good, strong kidney. I'm glad we were able to put it to good use for someone else and get my friend another good, strong one in return!
