LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A simple sign saved not one life-- but two.
You may have seen a photo on social media of a woman holding up a sign at the Louisville vs. Notre Dame football game last month -- looking for a kidney donor.
Tara Croft said she was in dire need. "Back in December of 2021, I was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure."
Now, she's adjusting to a new life a week after receiving a desperately needed kidney transplant. "I was on the Cincinnati transplant list and the University of Kentucky transplant list," she said.
But after over a year of waiting, Croft decided to take a page out of a friend's playbook.
"We are brothers and sisters from another mother," joked Marcus Edwards.
You might recognize Edwards from a similar campaign in 2019. The Jeffersonville father's photo was everywhere, too. He went viral after holding a sign at a Bears game searching for a kidney donor for himself.
Edwards eventually received a transplant in 2022 and now helps others going through similar battles through groups like Donate for Life and Mulligans Living Kidney Donors.
"First thing I told her was, well okay, the fight starts today. I told her, make your shirts up, get you some cards made up, make you a sign up," Edwards said.
So Croft did just that. She first tried her luck at a Piston's game in March and then again last month in Louisville.
"I'm a season ticket holder," said Croft.
Croft said her mother encouraged her to make a sign while out to dinner the morning of the big game. The Cards fan said they hadn't even made it into the stadium when people started taking note.
Tara Croft of Louisville, Ky. a week after receiving a new kidney. She held up a sign asking for a kidney donor at the University of Louisville football game against Notre Dame. The call came the next morning. Image courtesy Tara Croft.
"We were in line going to the game and a Notre Dame sign read it and he was like, 'That sign is going to get you a kidney.' He stood there and we prayed about it," she said. "We went to the game, held the sign up, had a good time, we won -- even better!"
Croft had written her phone number on her sign and several people took pictures of her with it. Posts on social media got hundreds of likes, including a tweet from Louisville Cardinals Running Back Jawhar Jordan.
The next morning, she got a call from a mother in a hospital who had seen Croft's photo.
"She called me and she said her daughter had passed away but she's an organ donor so they had her on life support. She told me she had to sign the papers at 10:30 a.m. and she needed a break away from everything and she went on social media and she saw where somebody had reposted the message. She said when she opened up Facebook, I was the first thing she saw."
Croft said the mother wanted to give her a kidney.
"It was actually a perfect match," said Croft. "I got a transplant that Thursday."
The Louisville mother said she's still processing quickly everything happened and feels grateful she finally got the call she was waiting for.
"I was like this is happening, oh my gosh! I can't believe this is happening," she said. "I had prayed about it and I had kept telling my friends and family, this year I'm going to get a kidney. I guess God said, 'You know what? You're going to get a kidney."
As she continues to heal, Croft said she is working on getting her appetite back and regaining strength.
"It's coming along. My doctors are telling me I'm doing great. Sometimes when you get a transplant, it takes a while for the kidney to take and start working but mine started working instantly. My body isn't rejecting it," she said.
Edwards said he was relieved to hear that Croft's sign had given her a second chance.
"She got that one person and that was her destiny," he said. "It was absolutely God."
He said he is looking forward to continuing to support Croft through her journey and inspiring others to become donors in the future.
Marcus Edwards held up a sign at a Chicago Bears game asking for a kidney donor. Image courtesy Marcus Edwards.
"There's people at alarming rates falling into kidney failure with kidney disease and if we as a community don't reach out or don't help others or promote being tested or raise awareness, then we're not going to get anywhere. Going through my journey and some of my battles, I made a promise to God that once I was healed and I was strong enough that I would go out into the community and I'd work to help to save others," said Edwards.
"It is a connection, it is a bond that Tara and I, my donor Jennifer and I, people that have been through this, we understand that feeling. Just the joy of having that second chance and being able to regain their life," he said.
As Croft heads into the holiday season, she shared her special Christmas wish this year: for more people to be donors. "That's the best gift anybody could give."
For more information on how to be tested to become a kidney donor, click here.
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