(Harker Heights, Texas) Heather Schaefer, a U.S. Army wife and stay-at-home mom living in Texas, felt a 'nudge' in her spirit when she saw a special request on a Christian Facebook group. A woman in New Jersey was asking for urgent prayer for her husband, Roy, to receive a rare, B-positive kidney.
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When Roy McIntosh's wife, "Chula", posted the prayer request, her husband was already in stage 5 of kidney failure. He had no idea that his wife had put a post on Facebook. Roy had been battling severe renal failure for most of his life and when his wife posted the request, she added, "We believe in God for a miracle."
After reading the post, Heather immediately felt moved to action.
“I happened to be B positive so as soon as I saw that post, I just felt like that was a message for me. I was supposed to give him my kidney.”
What made Heather decide to do something so selfless?
“It was definitely a pretty crazy decision. The only answer I have is it was God. I didn’t even know how kidney donation worked but I knew I was going to do it.”
Heather's experience of kidney donation? She says it was about a six-month process and included blood tests, physical exams and then more thorough tests like an MRI, a chest X-ray for blood clots as well as a psychological test.
After finding out they were a perfect match, Heather was especially thrilled to get to know Roy and his family and loved that they had a strong faith.
Roy's reaction to his kind kidney donor? Absolute gratitude. The two families feel a strong bond now that they feel will last forever.
“He has such a kind soul and such a strong faith…that meant a lot to me. We are family."