A frequent flyer needed a kidney transplant to live. This Delta employee gave him one

CNN Bruce Gamble has been flying out of Birmingham Alabama since the late s for his job as a consultant for car dealerships Along the way he got to know Delta Air Lines employees at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport pretty well making a point of greeting the customer organization agents during his almost weekly travels Jill Hickey a part-time Delta agent who s been with the airline for four years got used to seeing Gamble stop by the customer system counter to get a water after his flights Little did either of them know those encounters would save his life Hickey explained she believes she crossed paths with Gamble for a reason I knew Bruce had been having selected wellbeing concerns but I didn t know the extent how serious it was and what it was that he needed Hickey explained In November Gamble now discovered he needed a kidney transplant Gamble has been a Type diabetic since and an internist noticed his kidney function was declining He was described his blood type had a three-to-five-year waiting list for a kidney from a deceased donor By then he would be to years old ruling out surgery He was left with no option but to be an advocate for himself he declared It really started when somebody would say How are you doing nowadays Bruce and I disclosed I m doing fine except I just need to find a kidney donor he reported CNN That revelation opened the whole conversation up about what donating an organ entailed he declared including compatibility testing and making sure the donor is healthy He started talking to people about his search for a kidney during his trips to the airport and just about anywhere else he went The wait Gamble faced is average at the bulk centers for a kidney transplant from a deceased donor but in particular parts of the country it can be even longer than five years Waiting times depend on several things including the length of time a individual has been on dialysis or on the transplant waitlist blood type where the individual lives and their antibody levels according to the National Kidney Foundation But a kidney transplant from a living donor can be faster I m here for a purpose One evening particular Delta employees were talking about procedures to help Gamble whom they had all met at one time or another through his trips in Birmingham Hickey overheard her coworkers conversation She and a coworker decided together that they would get tested When she brought the idea to her family her husband and kids questioned her a lot She s a mother of two daughters both in their late s and one of her daughters was in tears out of fear of what could happen in surgery But her family ultimately understood why she required to help Hickey works as an elementary school trainer for gifted children during the day Throughout her career in schooling Hickey has met students who needed organ donations Recalling those moments in her life she revealed made her want to help someone who might be in that same situation If healthy and able Hickey was going to donate I was stunned beside myself Gamble announced when he learned of Hickey s intention He informed his wife of years that a donor had emerged from all the time he d spent spreading the word Kidneys transplanted from a living donor are more likely to start working right away and may last longer than those from a deceased donor Kidneys from living donors last an average of about to years according to the National Kidney Foundation compared with to years for those from deceased donors A person can live a full life with one kidney but must protect the remaining organs by staying as healthy as attainable the foundation says Over two years Gamble had other people volunteer to be tested but all were disqualified for varying reasons then came Hickey the th person to be tested Not everyone who wants to donate is able to give but the test uncovered that Hickey and Gamble were fully compatible When Jill called me and reported she was an exact match I can t tell you I was just speechless at that point Gamble revealed But here we are God privileged me with Jill at this point in my life She s extending my life and I ve recounted her that a multitude of times Hickey s decision felt especially fateful after she was gifted a daily devotion book from a friend of Bruce s She opened the page to the date of the surgery and it read Let Me lead you step by step through this day If your primary focus is on Me you can walk along perilous paths without being afraid It really solidified my faith that everything is going to be all right that I m here for a purpose Hickey reported Our paths crossed at the right time for a reason A remarkable gift Gamble s desperate search for a donor isn t atypical There are not nearly enough organs to fill kidney transplant requirements About people are on the kidney transplant waitlist according to facts from the federal Vitality Information and Services Administration cited by the National Kidney Foundation In about people received a kidney transplant and roughly of those were from living donors Gamble and Hickey underwent surgeries in December in Birmingham During the procedure doctors discovered issues with the blood vessels around Hickey s kidney that could have caused more healthcare problems The conclusion was a longer surgery but one that still went smoothly Months after the surgery Hickey Gamble and their spouses went on a trip to California Gamble has collected animation art for over years On their trip Hickey bought artwork of Marvin the Martian which Gamble hopes will get her hooked on the hobby Hickey announced that Gamble s love for animation art sparked creative ideas that will apply to her teaching job The two couples enjoyed spending time together and they say it won t be their last vacation as a group Donation doesn t change life expectancy for donors In fact a few studies according to the National Kidney Foundation have shown living donors live longer than the average person because only the healthiest people are accepted for kidney donation In certain approaches life has gone back to the way things were before Hickey is teaching gifted children full-time during the school year and she works for Delta as a customer facility agent in the evenings Gamble travels on occasion He s semi-retired but continues to do specific training at car dealerships In one essential way however things are forever changed We were strangers at first but we re more like family now Hickey revealed