www.Ups tatePhys i c i ansSC . com | www.Hea l thL i nksUps tate. com | 57 “The nurse giving me the vaccines said, ‘Do you mind me asking why you are having so many vaccines at one time,’” Tom explained. “I told her that I hoped to have a transplant.” “Do you have a donor?” the woman asked. “Hopefully, my wife,” Tom answered. She sat next to him and prayed over him and then said, “When you go home, tell your wife she is the match.” “At the same time that I got a call at my school to tell me I was a match and I could donate my kidney to Tom, he was having this experience at the health department,” Susan said. “God was there.” Susan quickly discovered that being a donor involves so much more than the actual transplant surgery. “I had my own transplant coordinator to connect me to people who could help me with the physical and psychological journey,” she explained. “I met with a psychiatrist. A lot of times, people are forced to be a donor. I needed to confirm that I was not forced.” Susan and Tom are the first to admit that they are playfully competitive. So it should be of no surprise that the day before their surgeries, they set up a little competition to see who would recover well enough to show up first in the other person’s room. “Removal is a whole lot worse than receiving a kidney,” Tom said. “Within minutes, my new kidney started to work. I knew I could win the competition, but I wanted her to, so I stayed in my room until she came in.” For a little while. Eventually, as Susan recovered, Tom did laps around the hall. “On the day that I could finally make it to his room, he literally dashed back to bed so I could win,” Susan said. Tom’s surgeon, Dr. Vincent Casingal, is one of many people the Chesters know God placed in their lives. “He was wonderful,” Susan said. “When he came out and brought us an 8 by 10 of Tom’s kidney, he said, ‘While I was in there, the appendix was looking angry, so I took it out.’ He knew his job and he did it well. He also had a wonderful bedside manner.” The couple identifies other angels on Earth who were there when they needed them: the husband-and-wife team who mentored Tom and Susan because they had the same donor-recipient scenario; internists Drs. Brandon Davis and Pamela Davenport; and Dr. Chris Fotiadis at Metrolina Nephrology Associates. “We felt everyone’s prayers,” Tom said. “And many were praying. We felt at ease. We were calm throughout the whole process because we knew He was there.” “One friend told me that she didn’t think she could donate a kidney,” Susan said. “I couldn’t imagine not doing it.” From riveting survivor stories to fascinating local doctor interviews, tune in to HealthLinks Podcast for a new episode each week! HealthLinks PODCAST SEASON TWO NOW UNDERWAY!
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