American Jim Strickland, who divorced Mylaen Merthe (59) twenty years ago, has always kept good contact with his ex-wife. Especially to keep taking care of the children together.
Late last year, he married his new wife, Debby Neal-Strickland, whom he met ten years ago. Debby and Mylaen saw each other at a family gathering and got along well, but were not best friends.
Kidney failure
That changed when, two days after her wedding, Debby donated a kidney to Mylaen. Mylaen had been struggling with kidney failure for years. She had no energy and was often very pale. Her brother offered her his kidney, but a kidney transplant proved impossible in his case. When Mylaen was hospitalized last year, her kidneys were only working at 8 percent.
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Debby, Jim’s new wife, knew that his ex-wife was about to become a grandmother. She imagined how the baby would be born without grandma. “I had to try to change that,” she told AP news agency. “God told me it would be successful.”
If donation proves impossible
Debby saw up close what it does to someone when organ donation proves impossible. Her brother suffered from cystic fibrosis, but it turned out that Debby couldn’t get a lung. He also needed two new lungs. He eventually died from the effects of the disease. “If someone needs an organ and doesn’t get it, the chances of survival are slim,” she says.
Debby turned out to have the same blood group as Mylaen. The two took all kinds of tests, while Debby raised six children and Mylaen focused on her future as a grandmother. In the end, the doctors gave the green light. Debby was allowed to donate her kidney to her husband’s ex.
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“She did it from her heart,” says Mylaen. Due to the corona crisis, they had to wait two months before the organ transplant could go ahead. When a date was finally set, it turned out to be two days after the wedding. The wedding that Debby and Jim had rescheduled several times.
‘The best day of my life’
“That wedding was the best day of my life, until two days later. Then it was the best day of my life,” says Debby. As soon as she woke up after the surgery, she asked about Mylaen. A few floors down was Mylaen, who was the first to say, “I need to see Debby.”
Despite strict corona measures, Jim was allowed to drive his brand new wife to his ex-wife’s room. “We had masks on, but we laughed and cried and our bellies hurt because of the surgery,” says Debby. The organ transplant was successful and Mylaen was already looking better.
‘Nierzussen’
The two now call each other “kidney sisters,” pray for each other, babysit each other’s grandchildren and plan a journey together. “She saved my life,” says Mylaen.
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