Kim set a special ringtone on her phone that was different from all the other ringtones. Anytime that specific tune rang out, she knew it was the transplant center calling. She never imagined that just a month after being placed on the waiting list, she’d hear that ringtone and receive a call that would change her life.
As a senior in college, Kim was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Having diabetes changed how Kim lived her life. She had to carry a blood glucose meter and food with her everywhere, she often had to make or bring her own food to events like weddings, she had to say no to a lot of activities and events because of her health.
It was limiting and difficult for Kim, who enjoyed being active and social. Finally, she had enough.
“I was tired of living differently than I felt like I was supposed to be living,” Kim said. “I knew there had to be other options.”
Kim went to her endocrinologist to begin the process of being tested and evaluated for transplant. Once that was completed, all she had left to do was wait.
Just forty-five days after being placed on the waiting list, Kim heard that special ringtone and got the call to come in. They had a pancreas for her. She was about to undergo a life-changing procedure.
Kim’s donor had said “yes” to being an organ donor when he got his driver’s license just a few months prior to the accident that would take his life. Because he said yes to being an organ donor, he was able to donate his pancreas, kidneys, heart, liver, skin, bone, and tissue, giving the gift of life not just to Kim but to many others as well.
After her recovery, Kim found she was able to start saying yes to things she’d never been able to do before like athletic games and activities, without having to worry about her blood sugar.
Today, Kim volunteers and shares her donation story in the hopes that others will register to donate with the understanding that their gift not only saves lives but also heals and changes the lives of others.
“I volunteer to try to make the wait time shorter for others,” Kim said. “So they can experience a change of life like I did.”