When your kidneys fail your body is
unable to clean your blood and you die. People use dialysis to clean their blood. But not for a regular lifetime.
Kidney transplants allow people live to far longer than they would on dialysis. Many people die waiting for a kidney
donor from a deceased person.
Our family
first checked to see if we could donate a kidney to Ana but no one in our family was a “cross match” to Ana.
A cross match is when blood type, tissue and antibodies from two people are nearly the same. If there is a cross match,
a kidney donation and transplant is possible.
What we found
out was that Ana is so "sensitized" - that Ana's immune system is so strong that finding that "cross match"
was nearly impossible. Ana was at Washington Hospital who told us they could not do a transplant for Ana. So we
moved Ana to John Hopkins who told us that they could do the transplant but that we would have to find that one in thousands
person who was Ana's match.
So we asked everyone we knew. We
asked many people we did not know. And amazingly, eleven brave and generous people volunteered to be tested.
Another eighteen people volunteered and were on the waiting list waiting their turn to be tested. The eleventh person
tested was a wonderful lady named Ailey Ellis.
We did not find
Ailey. Ailey found Ana. The way that Ailey found Ana can only be described as a miracle. When we have a
little time Ailey, Ana and I will share the story. We want to do that soon.
We
asked that if you believe in miracles to pray for Ana and to think about being a donor. Hundreds of people have been
praying for Ana. In churches and in prayer groups and in homes. We have been praying. And all of our prayers
have been answered. The miracle has happened. A miracle because the odds against finding a donor for someone with
Ana's rare blood type was thousands to one. And in the end we did not find Ailey. Ailey found Ana in a way
that can only be described as a miracle.
A miracle made real by the prayers and faith
of so many and by the faith and love of one very special person. Ailey. We thank you for your faith and prayers.
We thank all of you who were tested for Ana and who were waiting to be tested and we thank all of our friends who came to
Ana's support.
Ailey thank you for the blessing and gift that you are.
Father Taylor, thank you for your act of compassion. And thank you everyone at St Patrick Church and School. God bless.
Glenn.
James 5:13-16
