Uncle gives up a kidney to save nephew’s life
Kasey Tulloch was training to become a pilot in 2014 when his world crumbled beneath him as a result of kidney failure, followed by a debilitating stroke.
His mother, Mitzie Cross, in an interview with JIS News, said that she entered a “state of depression” after witnessing the steady deterioration of her only son.
“When we found out that his kidneys had been shattered, he looked at me with sad eyes, and said, ‘Mommy, I won’t be a pilot again’,” Cross said, adding that many days she cried over her son’s health challenges.
Cross and two cousins offered their kidneys, but they were not compatible and were rejected by the doctors. But when Kasey’s uncle, Kirk ‘Dan’ Cross, a resident of Kitson Town in St Catherine, heard of his nephew’s plight, he immediately offered one of his kidneys.
Cross said that two of his nephews had died in quick succession, one from drowning, and the other by gunmen, and “I couldn’t save them”.
“I couldn’t bury another one. It was too hard, so I had to help, and I told my sister that if anything happens to me during the surgery, they should give Kasey the two kidneys. It is all good to see my nephew driving and working again,” he said.
Mitzie Cross said that through the selfless effort, her brother “saved Kasey’s life, and mine.”
“I was in a dark place, and didn’t know what to do. All I could do was pray, and there came Dan,”she said.
The mother was speaking at her brother’s home in Kitson Town where a ‘Thank You’ luncheon was held last Saturday with family members, community persons, and members of the medical team from the New York University (NYU), where the surgery was done.
“It feels like a miracle. My life revolved around dialysis, making me feel hungry and drained. My life came to a standstill, I didn’t know what next,” Kasey said. “I was not driving. Now I drive, and work,” he said.
Dr Bruce E. Gelb, assistant professor of surgery at NYU, said “To see someone who was so sick, he had an organ failure, and is now healthy, is truly amazing.”