Landlord, tenant doing fine after kidney transplant

The Sleepy Hollow landlord and the tenant receiving her kidney are both out of surgery and doing well, family members reported Thursday.

Shira Love said Loyola University Medical Center doctors told her around 4 p.m. that Barbara Thomas' kidney was "doing everything they expected it to do" inside her husband, James', body.

Barbara went into surgery first, around 1 p.m., followed by James.

Members of both families spent the day together in the waiting room.

When they got word the surgeries were successful, "we all just stood together, held hands and thanked God," Shira Love said.

The new kidney should greatly improve the quality of life for James, who suffers from sickle cell anemia.

The disease, which produces abnormal red blood cells, caused his kidney to fail.

He has been on dialysis awaiting a transplant for the last few years.

Thomas, of Brookfield, found out about the situation last December, when she called to check on a plumbing problem at the Sleepy Hollow home the Loves were renting out.

She immediately asked what she could do to help, and turned out be a match for James' rare blood type.

"I'm just, I finally cried. I did.," Shira Love said. "At this point God's will is done."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=330586">Landlord comes through with fix for plumbing problem -- a new kidney <span class="date">[10/21/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>