An Earth angel saved Jennen’s life!
After lupus ravaged Jennen Johnson’s kidneys, she learned she had only four years to live without a transplant— but the wait for a donor was eight years. So the terrified mom ran a newspaper ad looking for a miracle…and someone answered, giving her a precious second chance
Sitting in her doctor’s waiting room, Jennen Johnson strained to hear the conversation going on in a nearby hallway as a physician reviewed a patient’s medical history with his intern. “Woman…42 years old…diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus in her 20s…severely damaged kidneys…now in kidney failure.” That’s me! He’s talking about me, Jennen realized. And what the doctor said next rocked her to the core. “This patient has approximately four years to live.” Suddenly, the walls began to sway. I thought I could beat this! Jennen panicked. Oh God, am I really dying?
When Jennen was called in for her appointment, her doctor solemnly confirmed his colleague’s dire prognosis. And there was more frightening news: The wait time for a donor kidney was eight years—four more than Jennen was predicted to live.
Tears flowing, the Toronto wife and mother envisioned her beautiful 12-yearold daughter, Tatianna. She’ ll be 16 when she loses me…the age when she’ ll be dating and starting to think about college… Jennen thought, her heart aching.
“Something has to be done,” Jennen said to herself, taking a deep breath. “I can’t die, my family needs me.”
A unique solution Jennen was immediately placed on a transplant list and began grueling rounds of dialysis. This must be a part of Your bigger plan, God, she’d pray in her weakest moments. I don’t understand it, but I will trust in it. Please help me through this.
But weeks became months, and soon, one year passed without a match. “What if they don’t find a donor in time?” Jennen wept to her husband, Deroy, who urged her to have faith. The thought of losing the love of his life was too painful to even contemplate.
Then one day in November 2017, Jennen’s mother called, her voice excited.
“I’ve had an epiphany!” she blurted. “Just put an ad in the newspapers asking for anyone who has type O blood to get tested to be your kidney donor!”
“That’s a…unique idea,” Jennen admitted, skeptical. She’d already found it hard to ask people she knew to get tested, much less total strangers. But again, Tatianna sprang to mind and Jennen realized, This could be my only hope. I have to try.
After several calls and discouraging rejections, Now Magazine, a local weekly newspaper and online publication, agreed to run Jennen’s heartfelt ad that
read: Mother of a 12-year- old daughter desperately looking for a generous O blood type, willing to get tested and possibly donate a kidney to save my life! If seriously interested in helping me continue to be a mom to my daughter for years to come, please contact… After the ad was printed and posted online, all Jennen could do was pray for a miracle.
The gift of life To Jennen’s surprise, the ad was shared on social media and quickly went viral. She was flooded with worldwide well wishes and prayers. But one message, from a woman who lived just an hour away in Hamilton, Ontario, stopped her cold.
Thirty-seven-year-old Christi Nolan wrote, Hey there. I saw your post. My blood type is O+ and I’m willing to see if I’m a match!
Jennen reread the words as they blurred through joyful tears.
Thank you! she replied, truly awed that a stranger would do this for her.
Christi herself was surprised by her own immediate and powerful response to Jennen’s plea. She couldn’t explain it. But when she read a little girl was going to grow up without her mother…like a tidal wave, a desire to help rose from her soul. It’s crazy that this woman could die when I could do something to save her, Christi thought fiercely. Just as amazing as her willingness to get tested, Christi was a 91% match for Jennen— a one-in-a-million chance. Calling Jennen, Christi exclaimed, “I’m going to be your donor!” “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Jennen wept, knowing those words could never be near enough. The surgery took place on March 27, 2018 and was a complete success. Soon Christi was back teaching yoga and Jennen was home making new memories with Tatianna and Deroy. “I have moments when what I did really sinks in, and I am overwhelmed to think that I saved Jennen’s life,” Christi says. “It brings me great joy to know that I was able to do that for another human being.” Jennen, too, is awed by the selfless gift. “I’ve been so extremely blessed,” she smiles. “Because my Earth angel followed her heart, I can continue being a mother to my daughter and a wife to my husband for many years to come. God brought me Christi; she’s the miracle who gave me that second chance!” — Diane Nichols
“I’m proof that miracles can happen in extraordinary ways,” smiles Jennen