![donor shirt](/kidneychain/images/people/donor_shirt.jpg)
“We did the testing at UAB and we were not a match, but we entered the paired program. I didn’t want something to happen to Mary and for me to not have tried something. I had a discussion with my husband, Gerald, and told him I wanted to try. I had to.
“When we got the call, I said, this is it. This is going to happen.
“This has been the most emotional ride I have ever been on. There was a huge part of me in the beginning that was hesitant, but as time went by and I started to see how great this was going to be for Mary and someone else, everything really settled down for me. It was a calm feeling.
“I’m feeling good one week out from surgery. Recovery has been a bit tougher than I expected. I don’t think I put enough stock into when you go in as a donor there is nothing wrong with you, but it’s harder on you after the surgery. But it’s amazing that every single day I do feel better. That first day after surgery was tough. But I woke up Sunday morning 200 percent better. And it just gets better each day. In fact, I planned to be at school for my sons Bryson and James’s Christmas parties just a week after my surgery.
“The thing about Mary is she’s my sister. Even if there were 50 people able to do this for her, I still wanted to do it. I felt like I had to. It wasn’t without being scared or worried – I have my own family – but I had enough confidence in the doctors at UAB that they wouldn’t do this if they didn’t think I would come out fine.
“The whole chain and the whole process has been amazing. That one person came up and wanted to do this for somebody ... it’s amazing to me. You think about kidney donation, when you’re on the outside looking in, and coworkers and friends say I’m amazing for donating. I don’t feel like that. I just feel like I’m doing something I need to do for my family.
“Watching Mary go through this with so much strength and so much dignity is so powerful. When it became apparent her kidneys were failing and we talked about things, the only time she got emotional was when she talked about possibly going on dialysis. She watched her mom do that, and she didn’t want to. She’s been a rock.”