'Wishing a kidney would fall out of the sky': Status update that inspired man to donate organ to Facebook friend he hardly knew
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 3:01 PM on 8th April 2011
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When Jeff Kurze suffered a stroke last autumn and was told that his kidneys were failing, doctors said it could take five years for him to climb the kidney waiting list and get the type O match he needed.
So his desperate wife Roxy turned to Facebook where she posted a status update in the vain hope that one of their friends in Michigan could help.
‘Wishing a kidney would fall out of the sky so my husband can stop suffering. So if anyone knows of a live donor with type O blood, PLEASE let me know,’ she wrote.
Some people replied to say they would get tested, but Mrs Kurze was not convinced.
Then she got a message from Ricky Cisco, 25, a Facebook friend who she had only met once through work.
Mr Cisco did not even know her husband by name, but had become convinced that he wanted to help after finding out more about the transplant.
‘It wasn’t until I researched it and realised that every day that I drive to work, I’m risking my life far more than by donating a kidney,’ he told the Today Show. ‘That kind of reassured me, once I found out how safe it was, there really wasn’t any excuse to fall back on.’
He contacted Mrs Kurze and they met for coffee. She said: ‘He hugged me and said, “I want to give my kidney to your husband.” I said, “You don't even know us, you don't know me, you don't know my husband.”’
But Mr Cisco was certain. He said: ‘I always wanted to be a hero, but I’m not very strong. I can’t lift anything, I can’t save people in traditional ways. I do have an extra kidney.’
When Mrs Kurze went home and told her husband he was so stunned that he found it hard to breathe.
Mr Kurze, 35, said: ‘She told me on the stairs when I got home from work. I was just so in shock that I had to sit down. I could hardly breathe.’
Last Wednesday, the two men went into hospital in Detroit for the transplant operation, which was a success.
A week after the operation, Mr Kurze said he has never felt better and is now planning to start a family with his wife.
He said: ‘I feel like it was fate and destiny. I don’t know how we can ever repay him. I just love him I guess.’
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1374190/Jeff-Kurze-wife-Roxys-Facebook-status-inspired-Ricky-Cisco-donate-kidney.html#ixzz1J9i5RlWS
Topic: Facebook status inspires donation (Read 3862 times)