Debby is overjoyed to have helped Mylaen so she can enjoy her precious new grandchildren. And Mylaen credits Debby with saving her life.
After a woman donated a kidney to her husband’s ex-wife, the pair now lovingly call themselves the “kidney sisters.” Last year, Debby Neal-Strickland was about to marry Jim Merthe when they discovered that his ex-wife Mylaen was in dire need of a kidney transplant.
Their son Jim wasn’t a match to be a donor, and even though their daughter Samantha was, she was pregnant at the time. Jim and Mylaen had divorced nearly two decades earlier, but Debby knew what she had to do.
“I wanted this family to have their grandmother,” Debby told Inside Edition.
They were ecstatic to learn that Debby and Mylaen were a match. “I was just shocked,” Mylaen said.
Debby said she didn’t hesitate to donate her kidney to Mylaen. “This was supposed to happen.”
Debby traded her wedding gown for a hospital gown and the transplant went ahead at Tampa General Hospital.
“The next morning, I felt like a new person. I just felt alive. That's how quickly it worked,” Mylaen said.
Debby is overjoyed to have helped Mylaen so she can enjoy her precious new grandchildren. And Mylaen credits Debby with saving her life.
