The two women who work at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta discovered they could help each other's husband during a random chat in the bathroom.
Coworkers Susan Ellis and Tia Wimbush knew each other’s husbands had kidney problems and needed organ donations. So when they ran into each other in the bathroom at their workplace, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, they asked each other how their spouses were doing.
Susan learned her blood type was compatible with Tia’s husband, Rodney. And Tia’s blood type was a near-perfect match for Susan’s husband, Lance.
“All it takes is just a conversation, a kind word, checking in on someone to see how they’re doing. And you don’t know how far that can go for that one person,” Tia said. Susan added, “Step off social media, step off away from your phone, and connect as humans.”
Weeks later, both donated their kidneys to each other’s husbands. “I’m blessed. There’s nothing much else I can say,” says Rodney Wimbush, one of the kidney recipients
And now both women are grateful to have each other in their lives. “The exchange of prayers and kindness, but also adopting a new family as part of ours, it’s wonderful,” Susan Ellis explains. “The depth of her giving overwhelms me,” said Tia Wimbush.
The successful kidney exchange is remarkable given that it's difficult for so many to find donors who are the right match. Both families have proven life's blessings can sometimes come from the places where you’d least expect.
