Copyright WEAU
ST. LOUIS (KSDK) - A 32-year-old Missouri man has a new lease on life, thanks to a stranger who donated his kidney after seeing a desperate Facebook post. Tim Heatherly, 32, went to the doctor’s office four years ago, where his simple back pain led to a devastating diagnosis. “After the biopsy, they found out that it was chronic kidney disease, which is something that’s kind of irreversible,” Heatherly said. Heatherly’s kidneys were failing, so dialysis became his lifeline: four hours a day, three days a week tethered to a machine that kept him alive but stole his freedom. His career in the car business vanished. His daily routine disappeared. “With dialysis, it’s not just that one day that’s disrupted because when you finish, you’re very tired, and then, the next day, you sleep all day,” Heatherly said. “So, it disrupts every single day of the week.” Heatherly needed a transplant, but when friends stepped up to donate, they were all rejected by doctors. He tried not to take it personally. “You kind of feel disappointed, but at the same time, I would think, ‘Man, does the hospital not like me?’” he said with a laugh. “‘Why are they not picking my people?’” Heatherly was losing hope, but then, someone responded to a desperate Facebook post from his mom. Joe Turner is a 39-year-old DoorDash driver from Cahokia Heights, Heatherly’s hometown. The father of three normally delivers food, not miracles, and avoids doctors the way most people avoid rush hour traffic. But something about that Facebook post stopped him cold. “It was actually a simple post. It was just ‘needing a kidney transplant or something,’” Turner said. “But it was from his mother ‘cause a mother’s love is stronger than any bond you can have.” Turner says he was guided by faith to donate his kidney to Heatherly, remembering all the times he’d struggled and been given second chances. “The gift of life. Just giving him a second chance, like Jesus gave me,” Turner said. After months of rigorous testing, the news arrived: Turner was a perfect match. He and Heatherly met for the first time at Big Daddy’s Bar in Soulard to fill out paperwork and get to know each other. Heatherly could hardly believe what was happening. “He’s doing something huge for a stranger, which, in this day and age, it’s not a lot of people that do things like that for their friends, let alone a stranger,” he said. The transplant surgery took place last month. Turner’s kidney became Heatherly’s kidney, and it started working like it had been there all along. “Still healing, still got some post-op pain things. But I feel healthy… It’s nice to wake up, not have fluid in your lungs, so definitely feel a lot better,” Heatherly said. Turner hasn’t stopped checking on his new friend since the surgery. “He’s messaged me every day, making sure I’m all right. ‘How’s the pain? How’s this? How’s your doctor’s appointment go?’ So, it’s turned into a friendship,” Heatherly said. Turner’s favorite T-shirt reads, “Kind people are my kind of people.” As it turns out, it’s not just a slogan; it’s his mission. “My motto to live by is to care about the people behind you that you may not know because you don’t know what they’re going through,” he said.
