When David Cruz emerged from what was supposed to be a run-of-the-mill reenlistment physical, he feared for his life.
The Marine of 28 years discovered that he had stage-4 kidney failure, and since February 2013, lived with the possibility that he would die if he didn't receive a donation soon. For those two years, he remained on the kidney transplant list.
That was until his 34-year-old niece, Becky Fuentes, stepped forward to get tested. By this time, Cruz's kidney was at 10 percent of its normal function. It was her mom who alerted her of her uncle's medical battles.
Despite not being a blood relative, Fuentes met the criteria for a kidney donation, and didn't hesitate before agreeing to give the organ to her grateful uncle.
She says, "It's something I had to do. I don’t consider myself a hero, he needed to live. He has a lot going for himself and he has a lot of life to live, like you said, and he has a journey he needs to accomplish."
They had their surgeries on November 17, and now both are doing well — Cruz's kidney function is at 40 percent and climbing.
Thanks to his niece, this Marine still has much more living to do: he doesn't just have three children he's hoping to see married and with kids in his lifetime, but he's also newly engaged!
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