Audra Eaker was an exact match for her son, Kincaid, but before she could donate her kidney, she was shot by her estranged husband and Kincaid's father, Darrell Eaker, in December 2016.
A Georgia teen born with a disorder leaving him with a need for a kidney his mother planned to fill is instead mourning her brutal killing, which has left him once again waiting for a life-saving donation.
Kincaid Eaker, 13, was born with chronic, genetic polycystic kidney disease, a genetic disorder that claimed the lives of his older brothers as infants. The Georgia boy received medical treatment that prolonged his life, and to look at him now, one would be hard-pressed to point out his condition.
He plays the saxophone and is on the swim team, enjoys riding his bike and playing video games.
But he is functioning on only 14 percent of his kidneys and is in dire need of the transplant he had hoped to one day receive from his mother.
There was never a question that Audra Eaker would be the person to help her son. She got tested to find out if she would be a match “when he was ready for a transplant,” family friend Brandy Love wrote on the GoFundMe page she titled “Kincaid Needs a Kidney.”
“She knew that there was no question where her son was getting that kidney from,” Love wrote. “It was coming from her.”
Audra proved to be an exact match for her son, but her life was cut short before she was ever able to donate her kidney.
On Dec. 27, 2016, Audra was shot five times in the face and head by her estranged husband and Kincaid’s father, Darrell Eaker, as they drove away from a holiday party at Love’s home, authorities said.
“They were having issues and he didn’t want to lose her,” Love said. “[They] had left my house that night together … [I] watched her drive away.”
Darrel left the gun inside the Ford Edge SUV and walked off “without even attempting life-saving actions,” police said.
Darrell was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus 16 years.
Kincaid and his older sister now live with their grandparents in Tennessee.
They often return to Atlanta, where he receives medical support and where they hope he one day travels to for a transplant surgery.
To help draw attention to Kincaid's need and lessen the financial burden, loved ones have started campaigns on Facebook and GoFundMe, which are still open for donations.
If you want to see if you are a match for Kincaid, visit the website for the Emory Transplant Center with the National Kidney Registration. Kincaid has blood type A, and blood type O is universal. Just enter his name (Kincaid Eaker) and his birthday (Oct. 2, 2006) when applying.
“I have to find help for this family!!” Love wrote on GoFundMe. “I have to find a kidney for Kincaid!!”
For Kincaid, the only thing to do is wait. And as he does, his thoughts turn to his mother.
“It makes me grateful that she was going to give me a kidney,” he said. “She was a very kind woman, my mother. Sometimes strict, but she really loved me."
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