Finding a kidney donor is anything but an easy task, something that Joshua Soruvey from Clarksville can definitely relate to. The 30-year-old man desperately needed a new kidney and has been dealing with related medical issues for over six years.
In all those years Joshua tried to get a new kidney, but a matching donor was found out of the blue thanks to a simple ad on the man’s car.
A complete stranger saw an ad asking for a kidney on Joshua’s car, and decided to help this man out.
33-year-old Renee Bruens didn’t hesitate and arranged for a meeting with Joshua at the hospital to see if she was a match. A simple magnet with an ad on Joshua’s car changed his life tremendously, and Renee’s generosity is simply incredible.
The two now proudly call each other lifelong friends.
The man has been dealing with obesity in the past, and both of kidneys were starting to malfunction back in 2012. His weight resulted in a significantly higher blood pressure, causing Joshua’s kidneys to fail.
He needed to be on a dialysis 12 hours a day, meaning he couldn’t live a normal life without a new kidney.
Because Joshua was overweight, he couldn’t go through with a potential surgery yet. The man knew that this had to be a turning point in his life.
“I did everything in my power to make sure I was healthy. I also had to do everything in my power to find a donor,” the man told The Leaf Chronicle. “I truly wanted to live, and I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of that.
Right away, Joshua starting to improve his lifestyle, exercise more regularly and hit the gym on a regular basis.
He lost more than 100 pounds and was finally able to go through with a future surgery.
However, finding a donor proved to be the hardest part of all. Usually, the patient’s family is considered right away, but he was the only one in the family with blood type O. He started actively looking for a donor in 2016, and waved a sign around on the streets that read “Kidney Donor Needed, Blood Type O, A New Kidney for Joshua.” He even paid to post a message on a billboard.
The man managed to gather quite some attention and multiple people proceeded to exchange information, but none of them proved to be a match.
In the end, it was a simple magnet on Joshua’s car that saved his life.
The magnet had the same text as the sign he previously used and Renee spotted it by accident at a local gym. Renee, a mother of two children, got tested to see if she was a match – and that she certainly was!
The kidney transplant was scheduled to happen at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and turned out to be a clear success. Doctors said that Renee’s kidney was immediately accepted by Joshua’s body.
“Her kidney began working immediately, with no delay,” Johsua recalls. “The medical team was impressed at how well, healthy (and) strong Renee’s kidney was.”
After the successful transplant, Joshua and Renee had a touching moment together.
“It’s working, right?” Renee asked him.
“It’s working,” Joshua then reassured her.
“I don’t know whether to cry because of pain or because I’m happy, or both,” Renee told. “I’m so glad it worked. Isn’t that awesome?”
As you can imagine, Joshua couldn’t thank his donor and lifelong friend enough.
“I can’t express how grateful I am,” he said emotionally.
“She came to see me as soon as I was brought back to my room and the tears flowed. We’re both in a lot of pain and discomfort but WE ARE STRONG!”
Both Joshua and Renee were discharged from the hospital fairly quickly and are now doing very well.
“We’re both doing really well, both recovering quicker than we anticipated,” Joshua said. “She actually went to work for a half-day today.”
The two still regularly post updates on Joshua’s Facebook page.
What an absolutely amazing act of kindness!
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