In late December 2008, Joy Sturgis gave her cousin, Judy Johnson, a special Christmas gift -- one of her kidneys.
Johnson had been fighting kidney disease for more than 20 years.
The two grew up together in northern Davidson County and have been more like sisters than cousins. So when Johnson needed a kidney transplant, Sturgis immediately volunteered to be tested to see if she was a match.
"Judy was two weeks away from dialysis," said Sturgis, who now lives in Mississippi.
She was a match, and plans started being made for the surgery, which was to be done at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
What was supposed to be a hospital stay of a few days for the women turned into a much more serious affair than anyone expected.
Sturgis visited Johnson last week during a trip to keep her annual doctor's appointment to check her remaining kidney, and the two women sat down together and talked about the surgery and the ordeal that followed.
Four days after the transplant, doctors discovered that part of Johnson's colon was necrotic, and she had to be taken back to surgery. They removed 15 inches of her colon. She also suffered a mild heart attack.
"I prayed several times to die," said Johnson, who is now 57 and lives in Arcadia. "Every time I did my pastor, Max Shoaf, would show up and know just what to say."
In all Johnson was in the hospital for 15 days.
Sturgis, 57, had planned to be in the hospital for about three days. She ended up staying for six because the gas the doctors used when they removed her kidney had settled in her shoulder and was causing her pain.
"It felt like someone was pulling my arm off," she said.
By the time Johnson went home, she had gained 40 pounds because of fluids given to her to keep her new kidney hydrated. She couldn't do anything for herself.
Debbie Reece, her sister, stayed with her at the hospital and after she went home.
Johnson's husband, Tim Johnson, held down the fort at home, as well as working and staying with her at the hospital.
"He was my lifesaver," she said. "He made all the decisions while I was in the hospital because I couldn't."
Other friends and family members pitched in to help by staying with her, running errands or just being there.
In March 2009, Johnson suffered another setback; she had a deep vein blood clot and had to be hospitalized for another week.
But after that setback, things began to go better, and by the summer Johnson had resumed her job as a medical transcriptionist for Novant. She works from home, so that made it easier for her. She also went back to Psalm 91, her church in Tyro, to worship again with the friends whose prayers and well-wishes had meant so much to her.
Even though things did not go as smoothly as they had hoped in the beginning, the cousins are doing very well.
Johnson said that the doctors told her that her kidney could last another 15 to 20 years. A kidney from a living donor usually works better than one from someone who has died.
"She gave me the gift of life," Johnson said. "Everybody needs to consider being a donor."
As the cousins talked they would occasionally finish the other's sentence, and laughter was a big part of the conversation.
"Everything happens for a reason," Sturgis said. "She's Judy now."
mhall@wsjournal.com
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