Donate Life - Charla Martin's Story
Jill was 2 years younger than me all though elementary, middle & high school in northeast Missouri. We knew each other, but weren’t really friends. As adults, Jill was what I would call an acquaintance. She was just a “friend” on social media.
Around Christmas 2022, my husband, Ben, and I were in Lancaster, Missouri visiting his family for Christmas. We drove by a house & I asked him, “Is that where Jill used to live?” We had a short conversation about Jill moving out of state, we saw on social media that she was on dialysis, and her health wasn’t good.
We were about 2 hours from home. So while Ben drove us, I spent the time stalking Jill’s Facebook page and also researching live kidney donation. Over the next 2 weeks, I did more research and, when I felt as ready as I thought I would be, I talked to Ben. He definitely had some questions and ultimately said he would support whatever I wanted to do.
On January 12, 2023, I sent Jill a private message and told her I was willing to get tested to see if I qualified to donate to her. The testing process generally takes 3-5 months. During that time, Jill & I got to know each other well via text and I kept her updated on every step of my process. After a couple of months, Jill said one day, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I had a new kidney by the 4th of July?”
Five months & 5 days later (Friday, May 19, 2023), I got the call from my Nurse Coordinator that I had passed all the tests. My first call was to Jill!
She answered and I said, “Girl, you are getting a new kidney for the 4th of July!” We cried and I think we were both in complete disbelief. After a year, it was hard for her to imagine life without hours of dialysis every day.
There was a high amount of stress leading up to the weeks before the transplant. Jill had an annual mammogram & came back with a suspicious spot that had to be biopsied, she had lab work that was out of whack that she had to follow-up on, her transplant surgeon got switched, we had final lab work to do, and we both had to pass last minute Covid tests. I was so scared something would happen that would postpone everything. I kept saying one of us would get an infected hangnail and it would all be cancelled! That was silly, but I was super worried.
We tried to have a little fun too so we had our friends & family help us choose names for my two kidneys. There were so many great suggestions, but ultimately, we decided on Laverne & Shirley and Jill was going to get Shirley the left kidney.
The night before the transplant, I went to Jill’s hotel room to see her for the first time in over 32 years. She was doing dialysis for the LAST time! Her whole family was there – her husband Bob, her mom, sister, brother, and friends. I got the biggest hug from her mom, Sandra. There was food, fun, stories shared, etc. Some of Jill’s friends even sent cards & gifts for me from Oklahoma. Her dad stayed home to dog sit.
The next morning, July 13, 2023, Jill, Bob, Ben & I met up at the registration desk at Barnes. We took a few pictures to commemorate the event.
Our surgeries both went great. Jill’s transplant surgeon said Shirley the Kidney started working immediately upon connection! The human body is just amazing!
“My why”
I’ve always been pro-organ donation. I just kept thinking, “Why not now? Why wait?” My wonderful friend, Jennifer, donated a kidney many years ago & I’ve watched her live without issues & without restrictions.
Jill had Cystic Fibrosis and had a double lung transplant when she was about 20 years old. She graduated from college after that and gave back by making a career in the field of Cardiac Rehab. She is a wonderful, hardworking, Christian woman. Her life meant something to so many people and I knew she would take wonderful care of Shirley the Kidney.
Our family motto is “Live a Great Story”. My thinking was that Jill deserved to Live a Great Story too. But after the transplant was said and done, I realized that I am the winner in all of this. Jill & I are such great friends now, her friends are now my friends, her family is now my family. My tribe of supporters has grown tremendously. Jill & I will forever be connected (she literally has a piece of me - lol) & we have a love for each other that most people will never understand. Nothing makes me happier than to see Jill spending time with her family, playing with her dogs, having game night with her girlfriends, and traveling.
While my 4 grandkids were young at the time, I think they might remember this event. It feels really good to teach them about being kind & giving. I’ve already told them they have 2 kidneys each, 1 to use & 1 to spare.
In addition, more transplants have been completed and people are volunteering to be tested because Jill & I have brought awareness to live kidney donation. So while I have no more kidneys to donate until the day I pass, my goal is to make it a priority to answer any questions for anyone who is interested and I will continue to spread the word.
I’ve been called a hero, but Jill is a warrior. And we are both Living a Great Story!
Mark Twain said:
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
Maybe this is my “why”.
Learn More
To learn more about organ and tissue donation, visit our Donate Life page. To register to become a donor in Illinois, visit https://www.lifegoeson.com/.