By creator to www.fox43.com
17-year-old Dallastown pupil Alex Kepner lastly will get kidney after sequence of coincidences.
YORK, Pa. — You could bear in mind listening to about Alex Kepner on FOX43 over the previous 12 months. At age 16, the Dallastown teen was in stage four kidney failure and desperately wanted a brand new kidney to stay. Alex’s mother Jennifer Fink hit the bottom working to discover a donor as quickly as potential for her solely son. Greater than 20 folks responded to her name for assist, and the particular person picked as “the one”, ended up residing not even 10 minutes away.
From that second on, there have been a sequence of coincidences that led as much as the York county man, saving Alex’s life.
“I felt like I wanted to do one thing that was, that made a distinction,” mentioned Chris Telewitz. He noticed a submit about Alex Kepner needing a kidney on Fb and FOX43 final 12 months and instantly despatched a textual content to his spouse Wendy.
“I used to be at work and I acquired a textual content that mentioned hey, what would you say if I wished to offer a child my kidney,” she laughed. A identified prankster, she initially thought he was kidding. That’s, till he known as the transplant group at Hershey Hospital. “They really had been involved as a result of they need to ensure you’re in your proper thoughts, as a result of they mentioned it is not regular for a stranger to donate to a stranger,” Wendy mentioned.
A becoming sentiment maybe, a few course of that has been something however regular.
“The extra we realized about what this children story actually was, he wanted a break and my husband is the one god selected to try this,” Wendy mentioned.
Their robust religion, main the best way by the expertise they’re now calling, “the vacation kidney.” “This all occurred and was guided and so ordained. I knew there was a purpose… this all occurred for a purpose,” mentioned Wendy her husband lovingly.
On Christmas Eve, Penn State Well being Milton S. Hershey Medical Heart known as Chris to say he was a match.
On January 24th, Wendy’s Birthday, the couple spent your entire day assembly the transplant group at Hershey and having extra assessments accomplished.
On Valentine’s day, the transplant group known as and knowledgeable Alex and Jennifer that they’d discovered a match.
It was no prank on April Idiot’s Day when Hershey known as them to postpone the surgical procedure due to COVID-19.
And at last, on June 1st- the couple’s anniversary, Chris was admitted to the hospital to prep for surgical procedure. (Which went effectively on each ends!)
Wendy mentioned her husband dislikes being within the highlight and hates folks calling him a hero. She did not appear too stunned that her selfless husband got here out of surgical procedure nonetheless groggy and in ache and the very first phrases out of his mouth had been, “How is Alex? Is he okay?”
Now, just a few weeks later, and with Alex doing nice, he can joke a bit extra.
“I am going to really feel higher when he is strolling round and he is doing all of the issues he must do as a 17-year-old. I suppose that was my alternative to do one thing that made a distinction… and would not that be nice to come back to search out out that he went on to discover a treatment for most cancers, treatment for autism, or treatment for kidney illness…you realize what I imply? You simply by no means know,” Chris smiled.
Wendy agrees. “I believe it is a nice time to have had this occur as a result of we’re ugly instances and there is great things, and there is nonetheless good folks…and nice tales…. and he is one in every of them… and so is Alex,” she mentioned.
Alex and his mom mentioned there are not any phrases to adequately categorical how they really feel. “Thanks looks like such an overused and small expression for giving somebody the possibility at life that they usually would not have had. There is a depth of gratitude that can’t be correctly expressed in phrases,” Jennifer mentioned.
Alex and Chris are doing nice after their surgical procedures, and now Wendy mentioned they’re centered on advocating for extra folks to develop into residing donors. They imagine extra folks do not volunteer as a result of they cannot afford to take greater than a month off work to recuperate. Wendy and Chris new that they’d have to be cautious with their funds, since Chris was solely getting 60 % of his pay for brief time period incapacity. Wendy mentioned she was planning on working extra time to make up the cash, however then COVID-19 hit. Whereas she says they are going to be okay, they’d like to sometime see a fund established that will financially help anybody keen and capable of save a life by donating.
The bizarre coincidences do not finish there. Chris and Wendy additionally occur to stay three doorways down from me and in full disclosure, have been expensive mates of mine for years. What are the chances?????
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