Sometimes we say “I owe you one” with no intention of actually repaying a kindness. But Becca Bundy of Cook, Minnesota really meant it.
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When Becca’s daughter Hadley was a year old she suffered a major seizure. The panicked wife and mother of four quickly dialed 911 for help and waited nervously for the first responders to arrive. Bearville volunteer firefighter, Bill Cox, was the man who arrived to help Hadley and Becca never forgot the tenderness with which he cared for her daughter.
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“He seemed to care, it wasn’t just another call,”Becca recalled. Two years later Becca happened to run into Bill again, this time in a local bar where he was working as a bartender. Bill was wearing a tee shirt that told the world he had end stage kidney failure and was looking for a living organ donor. His life had become terribly difficult as he juggled dialysis appointments to clean his blood and keep him alive.
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Becca was struck by the shirt’s plea for help, and soon the wheels began turning in her mind. “I couldn’t get it out of my head,”she said. “I just said, ‘I’m the one and I know it.’â€
Becca decided to get tested to see if she was a match, and as soon as she found out that she was she couldn’t wait to repay Bill for the kindness he’d extended to her during one of the scariest moments of her life. At sixty-six years old, Bill wanted nothing more than to resume his retirement at the log lake home he shares with his wife Terry. Becca’s incredible gift would help him do just that, and he could not be more grateful for the second chance she gave him.
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In February Becca and Bill checked into University of Minnesota Medical Center so that one of Becca’s healthy kidneys could be transplanted into Bill. The surgery went off without a hitch, and now Bill is off dialysis and feeling better than he has in years. He knows he’d never have gotten this second chance at life if it weren’t for Becca.
“Yep, she’s an angel,”he said. “I feel pretty blessed to be chosen to be on his journey with him,”Becca tearfully agreed.
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Ever since the operation Becca and Bill’s families have bonded. Becca’s daughters often draw pictures for their surrogate grandfather’s refrigerator, something that’s especially meaningful since Bill and Terry don’t have grandchildren of their own. The grateful retirees also attend the Bundy girls’ softball games at North Woods School, where Becca also coaches.
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“It is that lifetime bond that will never go away,”Becca said.
It’s hard to believe that less than a year ago these total strangers had shared nothing but a chance encounter, yet now they’re family members with a true blood bond. Life often seems to lead us in directions we’d never have imagined. If we trust that we’re going the right way there’s no shortage of miracles that can occur!
Please share this message to encourage more living organ donations to help people like Bill.
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