ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- One man says his faith was renewed through a prayer from a stranger that saved his wife's life as an organ donor.
Debbie Patterson, from Columbus, Indiana, was in kidney failure dating back to 2010. Her husband Gerry Jones is a truck driver who did what he could to support her through the years.
"I did a lot praying, and we came into a lot of dead ends," Jones said.
As the road became foggy, the hope to save Debbie's life seemed impossible, but he says his wife stayed positive.
"She just kept telling me, 'hey don’t give up,'" Jones said.
The years of fighting led to a connection with LeighAnn Saylor and the group Mulligans Living Kidney Donors. She encouraged Jones to think outside the box, so he did just that. He plastered a message on his 18-wheeler truck.
Truck driver Gerry Jones put a sign on his 18-wheeler to try to find a kidney donor for his wife.
"He put the sign on the back of his rig and drove around the United States with a plea for his wife's kidney," Saylor said.
But years went by with no luck until Tammy McMillin, an organ donor from Franklin, Kentucky, said a special prayer to save a strangers life.
"I was saying God, if this is what you want me to do then let's do it, let me be a match," McMillin said.
As the pieces fell in place, McMillin met Patterson, and the two made the kidney trade in 2019.
"If I remember right, she was down to like 11 or 13 percent on her kidney, and she was getting ready to have to start dialysis and that’s the one thing that I wanted to not happen," McMillin said.
The hope came true. A successful transplant happened for both, but another challenge post-surgery was for the families to meet in person once again.
Kidney recipient Debbie Patterson (left) and kidney donor Tammy McMillin (right) met at a Cincinnati hospital.
"We have tried a couple of times since then, and our schedules were never able to line up until now," McMillin said.
Patterson's life is has since been extended.
"This is a reunion. I am carrying around part of her body and every day I feel right here," she said. "There is not a minute of the day that doesn’t go by that she is not on my mind. She has no idea what she means to me and my family."
But the story doesn’t end there. Jones' daughter also received a new kidney and the Mulligans Living Kidney Donors said it will now fund Jones's truck campaign to save more lives.
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