“When my husband was diagnosed with kidney disease, our son wanted to give him one of his kidneys; but he wasn’t a match. The only reason I didn’t get tested myself is because I thought I would be rejected — my family has a history of diabetes. But after my husband was on dialysis for three and a half years, it got to where it really wasn’t doing him any good. He needed a transplant.
“So when he asked me to get tested, I didn’t even think about it. They checked everything from the top of my head to the end of my toes. There was absolutely nothing wrong with me. I turned out not to be a match for my husband; but they asked if I was still willing to go into the program, and I said, ‘Shoot, yeah!’ Within two weeks, they called my husband to say they’d found someone who was a perfect match — a man in Ozark, Alabama, who didn’t even have anybody in the program. He said he was just following the orders of the Lord.
“So my husband had his surgery in July of 2015, and I had mine in October. I’ve been fine ever since, and so has my husband. We’re able to do things together again. We went away for my birthday, and we haven’t been able to do that in a really long time. We also recently celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary. We feel like we have our lives back.
“I’ve never met the person I was able to donate to, but we stay in contact with my husband’s. They send cards and communicate a lot. We’re glad to have him in our lives.
“My husband and I know God used us so we could have a testimony to help someone else. When you look at us, you wouldn’t know he ever had a problem or that I ever gave up a kidney, so I hope our stories can encourage others in similar situations to keep trying. Don’t ever give up.”