Meggan Monday: Former Gulfport High friends reconnect through kidney transplant
Kidney transplant reunites old friends
On this week’s Meggan Monday we are raising awareness about organ donation, specifically live organ donation.
Did you know that according to the National Kidney Foundation, 12 people in the US die every day waiting on a kidney. Cragin Gilbert was on that list. He suffers from type one diabetes, but he now has his perfect match and is getting a new kidney tomorrow. Thanks to a very special friend.
“Just amazing I mean I had to pull off the road,” said Cragin Gilbert. “Yeah he was driving when I called him, ” said Sarah Estes Rollins.
“It makes it really special. It’s just a miracle gift that somebody is going to basically going to save my life and coming from a friend like her. It’s just unbelievable,” said Gilbert.
“So Cragin and I were great friends in junior high and high school. We were a member of the yearbook together.” “Went to school dances and things like that together.” “Cragin played football and I cheered and so we developed a friendship during high school.”
“Both went our separate ways. And now have reconnected through this amazing gifts she’s given me. I had gone into kidney failure. And I got to the point where I was pre-dialysis and our living donor, our cadaver donor, and had gotten the call twice, and gotten ready for the surgery but organs were not good enough,” said Gilbert.
“I did see a post from his family that he was in need of a kidney and really didn’t think twice about it. I filled out the survey. I got a call back in February and that I was next in line to be tested to see if I was a match. And I did blood work and got that call that it was a match then I had to go through a series of tests at Ochsner, got the formal go ahead at the end of May or middle of June. He didn’t know and it was special for me to be able to tell him,” said Rollins.
“(And what went through your mind when you receive that call?) Enjoyment, ” Gilbert said.
“Getting to know each other again has been really important to us and have started this nonprofit that we’re really excited about, Me2You Foundation, to spread awareness. We know that there’s a need to get the word out there that live kidney donation is safe. And it not only takes someone off the National Kidney registry list, it bumps that next person up,” says Rollins.
“Well the hopes of the foundation is just to help and ease the families and people that are having to go through this,” says Gilbert.
“Whether it’s travel and lodging and food expenses but also care after transplant because not everyone is able to get back to work. They may need full time care. We know that we’re going to have some healing to do but we’re really excited for what’s next to share that live kidney donor-ship is available to everyone,” says Rollins.
“Do consider it, don’t ever give up and keep hope, ” said Cragin Gilbert.
As Sarah told News 25 if we want good people in this world, it starts with us. We have to be that person and she is a shining example of that philosophy. Again we are keeping Sarah and Cragin in our prayers and thoughts as the surgery is tomorrow at Ochsner. We’ll keep you updated on their success.
In the meantime, if you’d like to learn how to become an organ donor yourself or if you want to learn more about the foundation they started visit National Kidney Registry or Donate Life Mississippi.
