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She knew immediately that she’d be
donating the kidney. Amy’s husband, Justin
said, “When you keep asking over and over
again, ‘What can we do to help?’, and the
answer is this obvious, you don’t have to
think twice about it.”
In October 2003, the family traveled
to Birmingham, Alabama, to have the
The surgery was a success. Amy
recovered as expected, knowing she had
the support of family and friends to help
her as she healed. Her brother Jeff has
faced other health challenges since the
transplant, however, his body accepted
the kidney and it continues to thrive.
While in the hospital for the surgery
them get through this season. A successful
fundraiser was hosted by patrons of the
Music Barn in Polkville, Mississippi. It was
attended by friends and family from all
over Mississippi and beyond. This helped
offset the cost of medical bills, but also
filled the family’s mailboxes with cards,
and letters of encouragement.
transplant done at UAB. On the way there,
the family went through a McDonald’s
drive-thru. Jeff’s car went through first,
followed by Amy’s car. When Amy got up
to the drive-thru window, she was given a
cross pendant that her brother had given
the cashier for his sister to receive. Amy
stated that she still occasionally wears
that cross.
Jeff and Kerry’s church family at
First Baptist Brandon planned to travel to
Alabama to pray for and serve the family
during the surgery. Jeff asked them, instead,
to stay home and pray every 30 minutes
throughout the duration of the procedure.
Amy said that she remembers feeling such
comfort as the anesthesia was taking over,
knowing that someone was praying for her
at that very moment.
and for all other hospital stays, someone
from the First Baptist Brandon church
congregation or staff visited every day for
prayer and support. As a matter of fact,
Kerry was amazed that God always placed
the specific person they needed to see at
the hospitals every time they would go.
Once, Amy ran into a lady who recognized
her from one of her brother’s ICU stays.
She had been Jeff’s nurse and said she
remembered him. She said watching what
he went through, she witnessed a miracle.
That statement was said many times
when the family was sharing the story,
“Jeff being here is a miracle.”
So many things stood out when
discussing this experience with the family.
They kept stating over and over how
important community was in helping
Claudia said that their family was
being prayed for by people all over the
country, many they had never even met.
Kerry mentioned that they were greeted
with signs lining the streets of their
neighborhood when Jeff returned from
the transplant surgery. She also mentioned
that their Sunday school class brought them
meals for months. They fed Amy’s family
as well. Sometimes people would even mow
their lawn or clean their house. Pinelake
Christian School, where Kerry worked,
made sure that whoever was keeping the
children was provided a meal, too.
Several other people were mentioned
as being a blessing during that time. Jeff
and Amy’s sister, Kay Arender Smith, who
was also a willing match, stepped in to help
keep the family business going while Jeff
110 • December 2018