A stranger steps up
Girl’s planned kidney donor a teacher at her Reynoldsburg school
Alana Brown was looking for a miracle when she put out a plea on social media for a new kidney for her young daughter, Éva Evans.
She found it in a stranger closer than she could have hoped.
Éva has collapsing glomerulopathy, which was diagnosed about a year ago and is causing the 10-year-old’s kidneys to fail.
After learning that none of Éva’s family members was a match to donate a kidney, Brown put out a call on social media. Her prayers were quickly answered, she said. The number of responses was so overwhelming that she removed the posts from social media.
The posts “didn’t even have a picture,” she said Wednesday. “And I thought no one was going to donate to someone they didn’t know. I could not believe there are this many good people in the world.”
A staff member at Slate Ridge Elementary School was among those who
the Facebook post. Fourth-grade teacher Tanya Thomas didn’t hesitate to respond.
“At the beginning of the school year, it was mentioned that Éva was not in good health and would likely need a transplant,” Thomas said. “When I saw the Facebook post, that’s when I said, ‘Give me her number,’ and I texted (Éva’s mother) immediately. I had to ask about which child she was.”
Although Éva was a fourth-grader at the Reynoldsburg school of about 585 students, she had never had Thomas as a teacher.
Brown sent Thomas instructions about the donation process. Next came months of testing, but doctors eventually determined that Thomas’ blood and tissue were a match with Éva.
And although Brown knew Thomas’ name, she said, she had no idea the kidney donor was a teacher at her daughter’s school until a chance encounter. Brown said she was picking up Éva at school one day when Thomas introduced herself. Brown at first assumed that Thomas was a parent picking
up her own child. She said she became overwhelmed with emotion upon learning that the answer to her daughter’s survival was a teacher there.
The two women hugged.
At the time, Brown was waiting to share the donor’s identity with her daughter because a surgery date hadn’t been set.
“When she asked why I was hugging this woman, I told her it was just because she needed a hug,” Brown said.
The transplant is scheduled for July. In the meantime, Éva is planning a YouTube series about the procedure to help other children preparing for similar operations understand the process.
Brown has a fundraising page on youcaring.com to raise money for the medical expenses. The site had raised $1,730 as of Wednesday afternoon.
For Éva, the meeting was a lifeline. For Thomas, it was a chance to give back to the school district that feels like an extension of her family.
And for Brown, it was a both a godsend and an affirmation of her faith in humanity. Brown said she hopes the story will inspire others to donate blood, kidneys and bone marrow.
“We want to encourage living donors,” she said. “Even a pint of blood can save a life.”