Bloke Trying To Find Kidney For His Wife Has Found A Donor
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Wayne Winters had been walking around his Farr West neighbourhood in Utah with a big, white sandwich board that had a pretty big request. Usually people wearing those signs are telling you about a big sale or a nearby car wash, but Mr Winters' board was asking for a kidney.
But it wasn't for himself; it was for his wife Deanne.
She was diagnosed with stage five-kidney failure and they didn't have many options on the table. Wayne told Fox13 that her dialysis treatment was only helping so much: "It's really hard today, this is the worst I've ever seen her; she don't look good."
Credit: Fox13
After several weeks of endless walking, doctors phoned the 74-year-old to say they had found a kidney. Hundreds of people had called the phone number on his sign offering to be donors, however a match was found with someone who had recently died.
Wayne says he couldn't believe the reaction to his small effort, telling KTLA: "I was just so overwhelmed. I didn't know what to think. Between 700-800, it filled my phone up. I'm sitting here with this full phone.
"If she can have a good five years that would be awesome, we can have our life back."
Wayne and Deanne have been married for more than a quarter of a century, so this extra lease on life will be well appreciated. But even though he's managed to find a kidney for his wife, he's not going to stop doing his daily activity.
"I will spend more of my days walking with my sign to see how many I can get," Winters said.
Credit: Fox13
"Think about it, we could start a kidney revolution, and that would be so great."
Wayne says he got the idea for the sandwich board after seeing a man from South Carolina do the same thing. Larry Swilling was walking the streets in 2012 with a big sign trying to find a donor for his wife Jimmie Sue.
Kelly Patrick saw the story and handed over one of her kidneys in 2013 and says she was glad to have extended someone's life.
Kidneys are the most sought after organ for donations, according to America's National Kidney Foundation. There are roughly 123,000 people in the US needing an organ and 101,000 of those need a kidney.
The Foundation says one of the best ways a person can help is to identify themselves as an organ donor.
Sources: National Kidney Foundation, KTLA, Fox13
Featured Image Credit: Fox13
Topics: America, Inspirational, Feels, Community
