You know, it's never too late to answer God's calling at any age. I mean, and to
do His work at any age. My wife and I teach at my church in Suitland, Maryland.
We just love serving in the church, and I'm going to school pursuing a Biblical
Studies degree. So, I'm grateful for the quality of life that I'm having right
now. My name is Elliot Stevens, and I received a new kidney at MedStar
Georgetown University Hospital. And I'm grateful to God for giving me a second
chance at life. I contracted hepatitis C at a young age, probably before I was 10,
because of blood transfusion after I had a medical issue when I was young. And
then as an adult, diabetes brought my kidneys down to a level where they
weren't functioning anymore. And then, I had to go on dialysis, and there was a
minimum of a 7 year waiting list to get a kidney.
I worked for FedEx for 28 years, and I retired. And I was really excited. I was
at Bible College. But because of the dialysis three days a
week four hours a day, it really drained me, not just physically but mentally as
well. I had to drop out of school and it really discouraged me. But, I was on
the waiting list at Georgetown to get a kidney. And around 11:30 one night, the
phone rang and it was a surgeon from Georgetown. He had explained that a young
man had been in a car accident. His kidney was a perfect match and that it was
being flown in by helicopter from Philadelphia. And we had to get to the
hospital right away. But, there was a twist in the situation because his
kidney had hepatitis C. There are a limited number of people who can receive
hepatitis C-positive kidneys. We restrict them generally to patients who have
already had hepatitis C where the risk of gaining the disease from the donor is
no longer a concern for us. Fortunately, Elliot had a history of
hepatitis C. And by offering him a chance at getting a hepatitis C-positive organ,
we were able to cut down his wait time tremendously, from 7 to 8 years down to
about one year. In fact, he did get his kidney just 400 days after we put him on
the transplant waiting list.
So, I was put on a medical plan for the hepatitis C. I followed the regimen,
and Dr. Gilbert told me the good news that there wasn't a speck of hepatitis C
in my body. He said it would be cured, and it was. And I'm grateful for that. I feel
great, 61 and I'm going back to school. I know
it's late, but I'm really enjoying the dream that I had. And I promised the Lord
I would serve Him until I die, so I'm still living so I still have work to do for
Him, thanks to a kidney transplant.