I am a retired military veteran. I joined the United States Air Force in 1973, and after 24 years of service, I retired in 1997. A few years earlier, my mother was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease and began hemodialysis. In 1976, I decided to try to become a living donor for her. However, I was on active duty and the decision to become a living donor wasn’t mine to make. To my surprise, my request was approved. the Surgeon General deemed the transplant would be considered a “Humanitarian Act in the Line of Duty.”

I remained on active duty for 22 years after the transplant and retired from the Air Force in 1997. My retirement physical revealed my lone kidney was not performing as well as it should be due to high blood pressure and diabetes. My renal function continued to diminish, and in 2021, I was referred to the organ donation transplant center at Allegheny General Hospital.

Shortly after beginning the evaluation process, a very special person came into my life and into the lives of my family. Becky Stout, a young mother of two, came forward and offered to become my living donor. I didn’t know Becky very well. I had met her once two years earlier. On September 12, 2022 Becky gave me “The Gift of Life.” What selfless act of kindness and compassion for someone she really didn’t know. Becky has said many times that “everyone deserves a better life.” She and her family have become cherished additions to my family of seven children, myself and my wife Linda. There aren’t words to express our thanks and gratitude to Becky and her family. I belong to a small group nationally of living donors and a smaller group still of living donors who are also organ recipients.