Landlord comes through with fix for plumbing problem -- a new kidney
Some renters have trouble getting their landlords to do the most basic of repairs.
James Love hasn't had that problem.
In fact, the woman renting out her Sleepy Hollow home to Love's family is going above and beyond fixing leaky faucets or broken screens. Today, she will donate a kidney.
Last winter, Barbara Thomas called the Loves about a plumbing issue at the house.
James' wife, Shira, answered and said her husband was in the hospital for complications from sickle cell anemia.
He needed a kidney transplant, but with a rare blood type he had been on the waiting list for years.
With sickle cell anemia, James' body produces abnormal red blood cells. Those cells result in high blood pressure, chronic pain and kidney failure.
Thomas said she had a gut feeling she could help.
"The first time I ever gave blood, back in the early '80s, I got a card that told me I had a rare type, too," she said.
Thomas asked James how she could get tested.
James at first had some misgivings. He wanted to make sure Thomas' family was behind the decision.
After all, he and Thomas barely knew each other. The Loves' oldest son, James Jr., now 16, became friends with Thomas' son Andrew when they moved to Sleepy Hollow in 2002.
It was the boys who ultimately brought their families together.
"When I decided I needed to put the house up for rent, Andrew came home from school one day and told me he had found somebody to rent our house. I asked who and he told me James' family," she said.
Barbara found out she was a match for Love after being tested at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood last summer.
Both she and Love have O negative blood, a type found in just 7 percent of the population, according to the American Red Cross. O negative is unique because it can given to individuals with any blood type. Those with O negative, however, can only receive O negative.
According to the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, James is just one of 3,400 individuals waiting for a new kidney in the state.
In the past few months, Love has received a number of blood transfusions. After each, doctors asked Thomas to get retested to ensure James' body would still be able to accept her kidney.
She came back as his match three different times.
"It's been a long process," she said. "But I've been confident. I felt like it was a directive from above."
The transplant is scheduled for today at Loyola.
"I thank God for her, this is awesome." Love said. "We're going to be friends for life."
Love and Thomas plan to bring board games to keep them occupied before surgery.
"James calls himself the Monopoly king," Thomas said.
A secretary in a Chicago law firm, Thomas will be taking a three- to six-week unpaid leave.
She plans to use the time off to launch a nonprofit organization called the Heal With Love Foundation, which helps families offset kidney transplant expenses.
As the founder of the nonprofit, and the donor of a kidney, Thomas won't be taking any of the donations, she stresses.
Her goal is to help five families, including the Loves, in the first year.
"Am I nervous about the surgery? No. I'm really not," Thomas said. I know I'm going to be in pain, but it's not going to last forever. If I have to suffer for a week or two, and James gets a life, what difference does it make?"
<p class="factboxheadblack">How to help</p> <p class="breakhead">Heal With Love Foundation</p> <p class="News">A nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals and their families receiving kidney transplants to offset medical costs.</p> <p class="News">Donate to 4218 DuBois Blvd., Brookfield IL 60513</p> <p class="breakhead">Help James Love</p> <p class="News">Log on to <a href="http://giveforward.org" target="new">giveforward.org</a> and search "heal with love" under fundraisers</p> <p class="breakhead">Learn more about kidney donation</p> <p class="News"><a href="http://nkfi.org/donation" target="new">nkfi.org/donation</a></p>