Seeing a member of your family suffer is one of the hardest things anyone can go through, especially if his or her pain is caused by a medical issue over the long term.
Shae Bicknese watched the condition of her stepfather, Dean, a fisherman and a mechanic, slowly deteriorate due to renal failure. He was on Dialysis for almost five years before Shae decided that she needed to help.
The only way she could see him getting better was if she could give him a kidney, but that would be a huge step and a very lengthy process. She wasn't sure if it was the right move and took a year trying to decide if she should offer him her kidney or not, but eventually did.
When her stepfather heard this, he refused. He was worried about her and her future. Who knows what could happen — maybe she would need both kidneys later in life!
Then, around Christmastime, she convinced him: she said that the best part of the season was giving and she wanted to give him this gift.
In January 2015, the procedure took place. Shae spent two weeks in the hospital to prep for the procedure. After the surgery, her stepdad didn't need dialysis anymore. She saved his life!
She adds that she and her stepdad may not be blood relations, but that they're now connected by an organ!
Please SHARE if you know that family is made of the people for whom you would make this kind of sacrifice!
