Gift of Life Stories

In the year 2020, my aunt was told she would need to start dialysis. She only had one kidney due to childhood illnesses that was severely declining; so much so that her eGFR was around 4% at the time of donation. I worked as a Medical Assistant for a Nephrology clinic where I gained a ton of knowledge about kidney disease, dialysis, and transplantation. After much thought and many prayers, I decided to begin the process of becoming a potential . . .

Karsyn Dawn Tolson was a precious baby whom was just starting in life. Always smiling. Always laughing. Her smile would light up a room. When she died, a part of me died as well. KODA provided my family and I a chance to make something positive out of a tragedy. Karsyn was able to save two children’s lives with the gift of organ donation by giving away her heart and liver among other things. Not only did she save these . . .

My dad started dialysis in April of 2019. His kidneys started to fail because of his diabetes. He didn’t want to live his life hooked to a machine but with a lot of talking and pleading, he decided he would do dialysis. Every single day I could see him going more and more down hill, but it was either do dialysis or die. In 2021 he decided to try and get on the transplant list. After his doctor told him . . .

  Hi, my name is Jeremy. I am 33 years old. A husband. A dog dad. And a dialysis patient.  I have ESRD caused by Wegener’s Granulomatosis, recently renamed GPA, an autoimmune disease that attacked and destroyed my kidneys nearly over night. When I went into the hospital for what I thought was a cold I couldn’t shake, and they gave me the news that my bloodwork was indicative of kidney failure. I was in such shock that I didn’t think . . .

It was in late Spring in 2022. I was at work. Me and my grandson were very close. I would FaceTime him every morning from work to check on him. My daughter was a stay at home mom of three. They lived with us. That morning, around 10:00 or so I FaceTime my daughter but she didn’t answer. I assumed they were still in bed so I waited for her to respond to me. Around 10:30 or so I called . . .

My story starts in 2010. I received my liver transplant in December 2019. The mission of organ donation for me means, a future. Because of Transplant, I was able to see my first grandson be born and my daughter get married, and since we just celebrated my second grandchild‘s birth in July 2022. I have also been able to contact my donor family. I want the public to know that organ donation saved my life. It saved my family‘s life . . .

2006 when I was 14 years old I had seven grand mal seizures. I was sent to the hospital in complete kidney failure. After a long road of testing, I was blessed that my uncle, John Staub, was able to be a living kidney donor on June 27, 2007. I still have Bob (my kidney) to this day. Unfortunately, in 2015 I went to the hospital with chest pains which was diagnosed as a heart attack. I was transferred to . . .

 My name is Teresa Hobbs. I am a heart transplant recipient. I received my gift of life on July 20, 2019. I live with my best friend and husband David who I have been married to for 49 years. I have 4 grown married children Mandy, Eric, Kyle, and Megan. I also have 9 grandchildren who have brought so much joy to my life. Their names are Grace, Robert, Tanner, Conner, Tori, Ty, Rylan, Aubree, and Jake. I am a . . .

My son was killed on 12/19/2019. Christian was always a giving child who loved everyone he came into contact with so when KODA called me after he passed, first they were sorry to hear about our loss and and sent prayers for healing. ‍ I truly didn’t even think of donating; it doesn’t cross your mind when you have just lost a child.  However, I’m happy they called, because a part of my son still lives on in a couple . . .

My wife was 56 years old when she passed away. We were married for 36 and a half years at the time of her death. She passed away from a pulmonary embolism on Friday April 15. We had discussed openly about organ donation and were both registered donors. Without a doubt that was the most difficult day of my life. When the time came to make the decision about donating, I was confident in my decision .