Remembering a Christmas miracle
♦ Family celebrates the anniversary of lifesaving kidney transplant
A Calhoun family celebrated the third anniversary of their very own Christmas miracle over dinner on Sunday evening.
In 2016, Carol and Steve Hatch were living life from one hospital visit to the next. Steve was suffering from Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a rare disease that attacks the kidney’s filtering units and can lead to permanent kidney damage and failure, and was on his fifth consecutive year of dialysis treatments. He was also facing possible removal from the transplant list.
Just when things were starting to feel hopeless, they turned to their church for help. A mutual friend submitted a prayer request on their behalf and described the situation to the congregation. There, in the crowd, was Angie Kight.
“As soon as the request finished, I felt the Lord speak to my heart and tell me I had to do something. It was a shocking moment, but I did a lot of fasting and praying about it, and I felt strongly that God was leading me to help them,” Kight said. “I decided to listen and get tested to see if I could do it at all.”
In November 2016, after a few months of testing and exams, Kight was told she was a match for Steve. Part of her wanted to tell him right away. Another part of her worried that they might not know what to say if she did. She prayed about it and then, on Dec. 18, decided she would tell them while they were visiting the home of a mutual friend. It was the first time she and Steve ever met.
“It was a shock because we went over to a friend’s house and it was the last thing I ever expected to hear. It felt unreal. She didn’t even know me at all and she was going to do this for me,” said Steve. “It was an extreme blessing. It’s hard to believe it when someone offers you exactly what you need and have been looking for. A lot of different things went through my mind, but most of all, I was thankful.”
Carol said she too was shocked by Kight’s offer. The two women knew each other from a women’s church group, but they weren’t close friends at the time. All she could do was thank her.
“She gave us a gift no one else could’ve given us,” Carol said. “I can’t tell you how grateful we were and are.”
After Kight shared the news, the Hatchs were hit with another challenge. Complications arose due to Steve’s illness and it looked as though he wouldn’t be
able to receive the donation after all. Kight said she stayed in touch with them even after they told her about the complications because “something told me not to give up.”
One year later, a year to the day after Kight first told him she would be donating her kidney to him, his doctors cleared him for surgery. They held a surprise party to celebrate on Dec. 17, and they went in for surgery the following day. They hadn’t talked about whether or not they would stay in touch after the transplant, but Kight said maintaining a close relationship felt “really natural.” Steve agrees.
“I think we’re a lot like brother and sister now. I call her my little sister and she calls me big brother. We’re family,” Steve said. “Carol and I can’t really picture our lives without her in them after everything she has done for us.”
“Everything” for Steve starts with the freedom that was returned to him after surgery. Dialysis required him to stay in or near Calhoun for treatment for nearly five years and his illness had stripped him of the ability to eat the foods he loved. He couldn’t visit the mountains in Dahlonega as he loved to do, and he couldn’t visit his family back in Indiana.
“Now I can go wherever I want and I don’t have to worry about what I can or can’t eat. I can live life the way I want to without worrying about everything. She gave me back my life,” said Steve. “It was truly a blessing from God. You can’t make this stuff up. I’m from Indiana. She’s from Florida. You never know what God’s plan is for you, but someone brought us to the same city at the right time.”
Friday’s dinner celebration was all about that for both the Hatch family and Kight — thanking God for making miracles happen and for the people introduced along the way.
“I can’t speak for them, but I want them to be a part of my life forever,” Kight said. “We’re family. They mean so much to me. I may have done something to help them, but they’ve given me a lot in return.”