Following three years and 10 hours a day on dialysis, Jereme Peterson found an angel and a miracle all at once, and his life was saved. The 42-year-old federal corrections officer encountered a donor in his Blountstown high school classmate from 25 years ago.
He was down to 315 pounds, had reached the lowest point in his life, and his kidney function was almost nonexistent. He was aware that it could take five to seven years to receive a kidney, even though he was on the transplant list.
He recalled his conversation with his doctor to WFAA, “‘What would happen if I stopped doing dialysis?’ And he was like, ‘you got two months to live, get your affairs in order.’”
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After seeing Peterson’s desperate need for a donor on social media, Angelina Attaway felt compelled to lend a hand. She told the outlet, “I could just see the relief and I think that was more heavy than anything you know.”
Nonetheless, according to Medical City Dallas, Attaway wished to remain anonymous. Usually, the donor and recipient don’t find out who they are until a year after the procedure, but by coincidence, the day before the procedure, the two met in the hospital lobby while attempting to pre-register.
Peterson described how he recognized Attaway and hugged her before she revealed that she was his donor.
He recounted, “Time just stopped and then when she told me she was my donor, time really stopped.”
It was a truly touching moment, according to Dr. Tiffany Anthony, an abdominal transplant surgeon with Medical City Dallas. She noted that it’s not common for a white woman to give a kidney to a black man.
She went on to say that being a living kidney donor is simpler than most people realize and that living kidney donations are encouraged because they have instant function and last longer than kidneys from deceased donors.
In their inspiring story, Peterson and Attaway overcame the challenge of blood type compatibility and completed the surgery successfully.
Their friendship now goes beyond the time they spent in typing class together 25 years ago.
Attaway remarked, “It’s like we’ve become family in a way. We share a body part, you know, so, we always say, ‘How’s our kidney doing?'”
Petterson is currently receiving regular treatment and is adjusting positively to the replacement kidney.
