"I did the paired donation because my husband needed a kidney, and I wasn’t a match for him. We were made aware of the donor-paired program when my husband was first referred to UAB to be evaluated for a kidney transplant.
“He was a little hesitant for me to do this. When he was first put on dialysis, he had a really good friend from high school, Howie, that he hadn’t seen in 20 years who heard about what was going on, and he wanted to be tested. He was a match, but there was a strict weight requirement and Wayne, because he was on the peritoneal dialysis, had a difficult time trying lose the weight. It was a real struggle. When we were referred to UAB, our friend Howie had some issues that were going to cause him to have to wait several months to be tested again, but I just felt that when you’re on dialysis, the clock is ticking. I talked to Wayne about me being tested to donate a kidney. He wasn’t comfortable with me donating a kidney at first, I spent more than a few hours convincing him that I not only wanted to do it but that I needed to do it.
“I came to UAB on March 17 to be tested and when I spoke with Dr. Jayme Locke she asked if they were to find a match for us the next week would we be able to be at UAB for the surgery. My only response was, ABSOULTELY! When we received a call the next week that they had found matches for us we were beyond ecstatic. We have two kids, Isaiah who is 17 and Bailee who is 14, so it wasn’t ideal for both of us to be in the hospital at the same time. But the main goal, as I kept telling Wayne, is for him to be around for our kids. I want to be able to hold my grandchildren with him. I told him any reservations he had we had to put on hold.
“If I weren’t giving at this point, I would still be willing to give later. I know how important it is because I’ve seen it and had to deal with it firsthand. I know the fear and struggles that go into this and seeing someone you love endure the effects of dialysis. You live your life worrying about keeping them healthy enough to get to the point where they can get a kidney, and it’s very frightening. It’s not a fun way to live. For us to get to this point is just a tremendous blessing. We are very, very grateful.”
When we walked into meet our donor/recipient — Amari and Joseph Brown — their mother Teria grabbed us and hugged us and said, “We are family now.” Joe and Amari are two of the most inspiring young men I have had the pleasure to meet. To know that we were able to be part of this with them is humbling. These are the kind of people you just feel like a better person having been in the same room with them — they are just beautiful people.
I cannot say enough about the care that we received from the doctors and nurses at UAB. I send a huge thank you to Dr. Locke, Dr. Mark Deierhoi, Dr. Jeremy Goodman and nurse Jill Griffin. Before I went into surgery Dr. Goodman sat down and asked me if I had any questions and I said, ‘No, I know you will take good care of me.’ He said, ‘No, we are going to take great care of you.’ That is exactly what we received from everyone at UAB. These amazing folks, took medicine to a higher level and made this experience personal. We are eternally grateful.
Stephanie Freeman - 20
"My husband needed a kidney, and I wasn't a match for him.... He was a little hesitant for me to do this.... But the main goal, as I kept telling him, is for him to be around for our kids. I want to be able to hold my grandchildren with him."