Today is World Kidney Day, and I can think of no better time to share some very happy news: I’ll be receiving a kidney in (or around) April! And even better, someone very important to me is making it all happen.
I had been told earlier this year that I had a potential donor stepping through the process to make sure they were a good fit for a kidney donation. Then, a few weeks ago, I was told that the donor had made it all the way through the arduous process, and was cleared for donation. No one had told me that they were considering a donation, so I honestly had no idea who it might be. Finally, last week, they shared the name of my donor with me. I cannot express how thankful I am to share the news that I will be receiving a kidney from my long-time friend, Micah Ilbery.
I’ve known Micah for over a decade now, if memory serves me correctly. Back when I was heavily involved with elementary OS I knew him from that community. He called into the podcast I co-hosted with Dane Henson a few times, and since then we’ve stayed in touch in various ways (especially, in recent years, Mastodon). It’s incredible to know he’s willing to do something so remarkable for me, even though we’ve never even technically met in-person yet!
Micah is an absolutely wonderful human being, and there’s so much more I could say about this journey, but I’ll let him tell the rest of the story if and when he ever decides to.
He’ll be having his surgery in a few weeks, then I’ll follow soon after. I’m looking forward to visiting him and his family a bit before. It will be so amazing to finally meet “in real life” (as if the internet isn’t “real life” - my internet friend is giving me a kidney, for goodness sake!).
Thank you, Micah, for being so generous and selfless, and for giving me a more normal life and many healthy, happy years to come. And thank you Cheryl, my incredible cousin who generously donated a kidney to me last year (I’m still so sorry that one didn’t work out like we hoped). I’ll never be able to thank either of them enough!