From Anna...

I thought it was about time for me to share the ‘recipient’ perspective on this kidney thing. So this is me Anna writing instead of Nicole for once.

When I was five years old, I had a friend named Jenny. She lived next door to me and we rode the school bus together every day. Because her father was in the Coast Guard, the time came for him to be redeployed, this time to Topeka Kansas and that meant I was losing my dear friend. A couple of days before Jenny moved, I was crying to my mother over losing her. That night, my mom and I knelt beside my brass bed and prayed for God to send me a new best friend. The very next day I met Nicole. Looking back now, I know my life changed direction at that moment. But I never anticipated it would bring us to this place.

From that point on, Nicole and I were inseparable. We lip-synced to Kid’s Incorporated every afternoon after school (I was Gloria, my brother Jared was Mickey and Nicole was stuck being Renee), we rode our mother’s 10-speed bicycles to Battery Russell and back at least six times a week, it didn’t matter what we were doing as long as we were doing it together. Nicole and I were so much alike growing up that we even had matching dogs. Hers was a black furry mutt named Muffin and mine was a black and white look-a-like mutt named Shirley. We spent hours of our childhood dressing our dogs up in doll clothes. When our dogs wouldn’t cooperate in this game, we moved onto Nicole’s little sister, Jamay and dressed her up in my life-sized doll’s petticoat and bloomers.

And now decades later, things haven’t changed all that much between us. We no longer live down the street from one another, but we are still as close as ever. The biggest change from those youthful days is that my health is not as strong as it used to be. This past decade has taught me a lot about myself and more importantly, it has taught me the importance of true friends and selflessness support.

When you live everyday with continuous aches and pains (not knowing if today will be a good day or a “stay in bed” day) you quickly come to the realization that not everyone you meet in life can occupy your time. Because of my health, I need to be aware of the energy I put out there for my relationships. I’ve always known that Nicole was a true friend to me, but through these recent months I’ve come to appreciate her as a sister. This year in particular has been incredibly challenging, having Nicole in my life has proven to be a lifeline for me. And now that we are just over a month away from this transplant, that statement becomes a literal one – she really is my lifeline right now.

Additionally, I know I would not be here today if it were not for the support of my parents. They have genuinely been here for me daily during of this recent struggle. They were with me in the hospital every single day. They were here for my husband and son, every single day. They have cried for and with me. They have given me physical support, mental support and emotional support. I can’t express how grateful I am to my parents for helping my family continue functioning while I was hospitalized. They did anything and everything they possibly could during those most difficult months for me. And I am grateful.

I sit here knowing that my life will hopefully be drastically different in a month’s time. I am compelled to express my deepest gratitude to my friends and family that have shown their love and continued support throughout my life. In particular, I am blessed to have a loving husband and son. I am grateful to have support from my dear friend Nicky and I am thankful for my mother and father-in-law and all they have done for us.

This may likely be the only time I post to this blog, so I also want to let everyone know how much it means to me that you are following our story and supporting us through donations and prayers and good wishes. Your support means more to my health than you realize.

I find it amazing to realize that the prayer I made with my mother 28 years ago could bring me to this place in my life. It just goes to show that God has a way of working long before we realize we need his help. If I ever needed proof that there is good in this world, all I need to do is look upon Nicole. Our friendship is all the evidence I need.