10/30/2026
I’ve never met John B in person, and we have not spoken in a couple of years … or more. But we’ve been in touch for at least seven years. John sent me this photo because IT’S A BIG DEAL!!! … and partly because he knows my family celebrates and honors what I call Kidney Day. On 16 January 2018, my daughter-in-law, Carla, donated a kidney to her Dad, Jim, who is still enjoying life!!
John is on the left. His sign reads:
10 Years With a Heart and Kidney Transplant. I climbed Pike’s Peak, 14,115 Feet. THIS IS WHAT GOD CAN DO
I don’t know yet know the story of the fellow on the right, but will ask John. His sign reads:
Husky and Handsome. I can do BIG THINGS. I climbed Pike’s Peak, 14,115 Feet
John is not our only customer-friend who lives with the heart of another. I will check in with NEWHEART (his email handle).
I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating because typical human nature seems to be that we don’t appreciate, or don’t appreciate ENOUGH, some of the most important things. … In 1984 or 1985, I was buying life insurance, and a gent came to the house to do a physical. He was a different kind of guy, he looked swollen. I’m sure most people noticed that. Medically-aware people might have realized right away that his swelling was caused by steroids, but I was oblivious. What I really noticed was his happiness. He may have been the most radiantly joyful person I’ve ever encountered. And again (sorry!) … we didn’t spend much time together … just a cursory, in-home insurance-physical on a young (I was 30 or 31), healthy guy. But his bearing was remarkable, and I just flat-out asked him WHAT’S GOING ON WITH YOU? He explained that he was the recipient of a donated kidney, without which he would have been dead, and that every day, every moment, was a splendid gift for which he could not be more grateful, nor more celebratory. I am very grateful to have met him. --- SunDog
