Successful Kidney Transplant Just in Time for Christmas!

“The doctor told me, ‘Felnar, there is a storm coming, and I want you to be prepared for it. I just wanted to be aware that it's something that's going to happen. I don't know how fast it would be, but you have a chronic kidney disease problem.’” Felnar Caridad recalls his doctor’s words of warning. As a nurse in Michigan, Felnar spent his career helping others in their time of need. 2013 became his time of need as he was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.

His wife Yolanda remembers seeing his health decline. She says, “He would have no energy at all. Like he was. Just would be in, like, kind of depressed also.”

“It was, a big blow for me.” Says Felnar, “I became foggy. My concentration was not as good. I was the provider for my family. And I never imagined that it will happen to me.”

Felnar was put on a transplant list in two states. He began receiving kidney dialysis several times a week as his condition worsened to end stage renal failure. His church and family prayed with him, while he struggled with thoughts of hopelessness and depression. Felnar says, “I need prayers. Sitting in the chair three times a week for many years. wore me down physiologically, mentally, emotionally, there were there were times when I said, ‘this is not the kind of life that I wanted to live. And I don't imagine myself living this life any longer.’”

After a long wait, a kidney became available in Ohio. As he was being prepped for surgery they received bad news, the donor kidney was not a good match for Felnar. He says, “I was hoping against hope that I will get transplanted, but when it did not happen, me and my wife drove back, and we were actually very sad. My hopes were crushed.”

A second transplant opportunity also failed to be a match. Then in 2015, a call from a local hospital brought unexpected news. Felnar recalls the conversation, “’Mr. Caridad is it possible for you to come over for a meeting?’ I said, ‘what meeting?’ and then the lady told me on the other line, ‘Your daughter is a perfect match for you, and she is willing to donate her kidneys to you.’”

Without their knowledge, their 19-year-old daughter Yasmin pursued testing to see if her kidney was a match. It was perfect. Yolanda recalls, “Oh, I was shocked. I was like it was out of the blue.”

Felnar says, “We've been praying, and we've been praying hard that there will be a donor, a kidney donor. We did not even realize that the answer to our prayers lives right in here, in our house, in our very own house. And our daughter was the one who would be the answer to my prayer for a kidney donor.”

Yolanda now had two family members to pray for as they prepared for surgery. She says, “I remember just listening to Michael W Smith's song Draw Me Close to You, and there's a line there, said ‘I’ll never let you never let me go.’ Then I just keep listening to that song. God never did leave me. He was always there. He was there the whole time. And then he gave me peace.”

December eighth 2015, the surgery was a complete success. Yasmin was released from the hospital three days later, and Felnar went home just days after that. “Glory to God” says Felnar, “Because, the provision of the kidney, the strength that came from above and not from us, and just the protection. Throughout the whole process of the surgery, as well as the reassurance that, we were not alone in the journey.”

Yasmin is living an active healthy life with one kidney but was unavailable for our interview. Felnar and Yolanda reflect back on the beautiful gift their daughter so bravely gave that December day, thankful for the gift of life they celebrate each Christmas season. “December is a joyful time and it's about giving of gifts and expression of love and care for people that you love. And I received the best gift, ever. The gift of love.” Says Felnar.

Yolanda remembers, “That moment during this time was the hardest and at the same time, the most beautiful time for our family. I see my husband has a new lease in life. And because of my daughter's gift.”

Felnar hopes his daughter’s gift of life will encourage others to consider organ donation. As he reflects on his answered prayer, he encourages people to look to the Lord during their time of need. “You just have to trust.” He says, “trust the Lord and pray, because when we pray, God answers in ways and fashion, unfathomable. And that we cannot even imagine that will happen. And I'm a living testimony of what God has done in my life.”