Sunday, January 15, 2012

Clay's Story

The greatest gift of all


FROM:
TO:

Sunday, January 15, 2012 9:58 AM
Justin,
 
I came upon this inspiring story today and just had to share it.  Folks, please become an organ donor and have it noted on your driver’s license!
 
Richard
 
Not only is Clay Taber about to marry his college sweetheart, but the 23-year-old now has a new lease on life thanks to a nurse who offered her own kidney to transplant to her ailing patient.
Allison Batson treated Taber at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta after blood tests revealed he suffered from Goodpasture's Syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that can cause renal failure, according to a press release from the hospital.
Taber was just 22-years-old at the time, fresh out of Auburn University and recently engaged.
After returning from vacation in the Gulf of Mexico, Taber began experiencing symptoms.
Doctors ordered blood work that revealed Taber was experiencing kidney failure.
Shortly after the results came in, Taber was placed in the hospital, where he would remain for weeks while undergoing several procedures, including dialysis.
Batson was a nurse assigned to Taber's floor, and with children of her own close to Taber's age, she formed a special bond with the family.
When Taber was placed on the waiting list for a kidney, Batson said she felt compelled to help out in a special way.
"The whole world was his, with the exception of this incredibly rare illness that hit him out of the blue," Batson said in the press release. "Something inside me said I needed to do more."
Taber's mother didn't qualify as a match, but after undergoing tests, Batson found out she did.
"The only thing I was nervous about in this entire process was that somebody was going to tell us we couldn't do it," Batson told MSNBC.
The operation took place on Jan. 10, about a year after the pair met for the first time, and both Batson and Taber are now doing just fine.
Taber is set to marry his fiancee Laura Calhoun on June 9, and he plans to continue working toward a career in finance, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports.
The groom-to-be says he's grateful for what the nurse did for him.
"I told [Batson] she's going to get a special dance at the wedding, Taber told MSNBC. "She can pick out the song."
 

3 comments:

Jim said...

Very inspiring! I am and will be donor. My friend who passed two months age was one as well. She 'saved' three people's lives. Enough said......

Gary Kelly said...

Lovely story of REAL love. Anyway, organs don't belong in coffins. When the doc asked my permission to keep the cancer for research purposes I told she could have the bloody lot, from tippy toe to the hair on my head. Matter of fact, the doc was here just now... I'm free to go. One more brief visit next week and that's it.

JustinO'Shea said...

Good news. . .so you are at home from the hospital!!! Excellent. . .totally. . .;-)