A Texas couple proved that they are the perfect match when they realized that they could share a kidney.
The traditional marriage vow of “in sickness and in health” became literal for Sammy Turner Jr. and his wife, Ashley Turner, when they found out that Sammy would need a kidney transplant, WFAA-TV reported.
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Last July, Sammy woke up in the middle of the night and didn’t feel right.
“I woke up and said, ‘Hey babe, I can’t breathe,’” he recalled.
After a trip to the emergency room, the couple found out that Sammy was experiencing kidney failure.
In Sammy’s quest to find a match, Ashley decided to get tested, saying she “couldn’t imagine losing Sam.”
“I just started thinking, I’m a do my part, and I’m a let God do his part,” she said.
Ashley’s act of faith led her to an amazing discovering: Beating odds of 1 in 100,000, she found out that she was a match. Doctors said it is especially “uncommon,” considering that most living donors are blood relatives.
Earlier this month, cameras rolled as surgeons at the Methodist Dallas Medical Center transplanted one of Ashley’s kidneys to her husband to save his life.
Doctors described Ashley as a hero, and Sammy expressed his gratitude to his wife of almost 12 years.
“It just meant the world to me that she just would basically, you know, say, ‘Hey, I’ll give you a part of me,’” he said.
Five days after the surgery, both Sammy and Ashley were smiling, happy and healthy.
“I feel great,” Sammy said.
“I’m just happy to have … my old husband back,” Ashley said.
Ashley has given her husband the gift of time — plenty of healthy years to spend with her. Sammy said he’ll spend that time trying to repay her.
“I’m a get her whatever she wants, so that’s already a given,” he said, laughing. “But, I could never repay her, I mean, but I will, for the rest of my life, try to do that.”
(H/T: WFAA-TV)