Lupus Patient Receives New Kidney on Christmas

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Lupus Patient Receives New Kidney on Christmas

December 26, 2006 - A Delaware man is recovering in Center City tonight, after surgery made possible by a Christmas miracle of sorts.

One day after receiving a kidney transplant 68-year-old Jerome Johnson and his wife Cynthia feel better than they have in a long time.

"I've been waiting 16 years to get one," said Jerome. "And on Christmas morning, 12 o'clock they called me said I had a kidney."

It was a Christmas miracle. 15 years after Lupus ravaged his kidneys and lead to dialysis three times-a-week, the Bridgeville, Delaware husband, father, and grandfather got an answer to his constant prayer. A man who passed away wanted his kidney to give life to another.

Cynthia and Jerome were married the year before his kidneys failed. Sickness and dialysis interfered with everything from intimacy to travel. Recently, doctors determined they couldn't implant any more of the shunts in his body that are needed for dialysis treatment.

"That meant if that one went bad and I didn't get a kidney they couldn't tell me how long I would live after that" explained Jerome.

The doting couple was at their daughters when Hahnemann Hospital called with news of the holiday wonder. Before rushing in for the life saving surgery, the faith fueled family gathered to pray and exchange gifts.

We had to celebrate Christmas because Santa Claus had come to our home. He had called our phone and this donor angel with all of my heart I love and appreciate," said Jerome's granddaughter Marva Carter.

The Johnsons don't know much about the angel that was his donor. But they do share the same commitment to give gift that keeps on giving. The Johnsons have pledged to be organ donors themselves

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