By Bill Holton In Woman’s World
My job is just high stress all day,” Jereme Peterson, a supervisor at a Texas federal prison, told his doctor when he first developed high blood pressure and diabetes. For a long time, Jereme chalked up his constant fatigue to his career, but then his doctor sent him to an endocrinologist. “Your kidneys are functioning at less than 50 percent,” the endocrinologist said, and started him on home dialysis. “You need a new kidney.”
The doctor said it could take up to five years to find a matching donor, but Jereme didn’t want to die, so he continued with dialysis—often feeling worse than ever. Jereme’s mom and siblings all got tested as donors, but sadly, there were no matches.
“We need to spread the word,” said his brother John when he came for a visit. Together, they composed a message to post on social media: Only one kidney is needed for a healthy life and both of mine are in failure…
In Tallahassee, Florida, Angelina Attaway Baker was late-night scrolling online. “Oh my,” she sighed when she spotted a post from John Peterson about his brother Jereme needing a new kidney. Angelina and her husband, Anthony, had gone to high school with John in the late 90s. She even had John’s big brother, Jereme, in her junior year typing class. I hope he’ll be okay, Angelina thought, and she looked up Jereme’s profile and sent him a message: I’m praying for you.
That night, Angelina tossed and turned for hours, thinking about Jereme. She used to work at a dialysis center connecting and disconnecting patients from the lifesaving machines. She knew how hard it was.
The post had included a link to a preliminary donor questionnaire. What can it hurt to fill it out? Angelina thought. And she was only three questions in when a powerful knowing came over her. I’m going to be a perfect match, she thought. I think I can save Jereme’s life.
Prayers answered
The dual surgeries went perfectly. “Your angel is doing fine,” a nurse reported when Jereme woke up, and his very first question was, “How is Angelina?” Later, the same nurse filled in Angelina. “You must have given him a super kidney, the way it’s already working.”
The next day, Angelina visited Jereme in his room. “I feel more alive than I’ve felt in years…because of you,” he insisted. Today, Angelina doesn’t miss the kidney she gave Jereme, who is healthy, strong and back to work. He and Angelina still talk and text regularly. “We have a special bond,” he says. “For the rest of my life, a part of her will be a part of me.” “I knew right away God was calling me to help,” says Angelina. “I never doubted His plan once.”
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