“Over the last few years, my twin sister, Jerri, got really sick. She lost so much weight she was like a walking X-ray. Her kidney was deteriorating.
“We called the doctor in Birmingham, and they told us to get her there as soon as we could. She was crying while she packed her suitcase, saying, ‘I don’t want to go back to the hospital!’ I was crying, too.
“By the time we got there, I think they told us if her blood pressure had dropped one more number she would have gone into a coma. So we almost lost her.
“I wanted to give her a kidney, but our blood types are different. When I found out about the kidney chain — I call it the ‘circle of life’ — I was ecstatic, because it meant I could still give for her. At the same time, I’d be saving somebody else’s life. And that was right up my alley, because I’ve helped people all my life.
“After I’d been tested, my coordinator called at about 7 o’clock one night and said ‘Terri, congratulations. You’re a match for somebody.’ I started crying. Jerri was lying on her bed, and I hollered to her, ‘It’s a match! We can do it!’
“I wasn’t scared, because I knew it was going to make her well and at the same time save somebody else’s life. I never dreamed it would work out that way, but I’m so glad that it did because that’s the best thing that I’ve ever done in my life other than having my kids.
“The person who got my kidney was a preacher with four kids who had been on dialysis for a while. When I met him and saw the look on his face, it was worth every bit of it right then. He prayed for me, he prayed for himself, and he told me it would be a testimony for him for the rest of his life at his church.
“We still stay in contact on Facebook. I can’t put into words how good it made me feel to see that he was alive because of me, and those kids would get to grow up with their dad. That was hard to imagine, because I’m not a doctor or nurse; I don’t know how to save lives. But I saved that man’s life and Jerri’s life. I couldn’t stand losing her. She’s doing really well now. We both are.
“It was overwhelming when it actually hit me what the kidney chain has done. Everyone involved in that will be blessed. If anyone wants to help save someone’s life but isn’t a match for them, I think they should do the kidney chain. I feel very strongly about that.
“Alabama isn’t the biggest state; but what we have is priceless, and I’m very proud to say we’re the ones who have the UAB Kidney Chain.”
Terri Bryant - 61
“The person who got my kidney was a preacher with four kids who had been on dialysis for a while. When I met him and saw the look on his face, it was worth every bit of it right then."