How It Started
In 1998, my mom gave a kidney to my dad.
They had been married for years, but their connection started long before that.
In 1977 someone gave my dad a picture of my mom, hoping to set them up.
Dad was out bowling that night when he saw the photo.
He was shy, but after a beer he asked a friend for a quarter to call her.
He didn’t want to ask her out right before Valentine’s Day because he thought that might seem too forward, so he waited until after.
Within 2 weeks he was asking her to move in.
Her, her things, and her Great Dane.
By June 23, they were married in a park.
The Gift of Life
When my dad’s kidneys began to fail from polycystic kidney disease, my mom didn’t hesitate.
She was tested and turned out to be a perfect match.
The transplant surgery was a success.
Dad lived more than 15 more years with my mom’s kidney.
They filled those years with love, travel, and everyday moments that mattered most.
The Gold Kidney
After the surgery, Dad had an idea.
He went to a family friend who was a jeweler and asked,
“Do you have anything shaped like a kidney?”
The jeweler laughed and said no, but they could make one.
That Christmas, my mom opened a small box to find a gold nugget shaped like a kidney, flat-backed and engraved: 11-18-98 ❤️ Tom
It was more than jewelry.
It was a thank you, a love letter, and a reminder that her gift had kept him alive.
He was giving her a kidney too.
It started as a running family joke —
Dad always said he’d “keep” Mom for 29 years before trading her in.
But in their 28th year, during a quiet Christmas drive, he revealed the truth behind the joke… and set a surprise in motion that would become one of the most beautiful days of our lives. Read → The 29th Promise
Their Legacy
Their story is where our family’s chain of giving began.
It is the reason I know living kidney donation changes lives.
It is the foundation for everything this campaign stands for — love, generosity, and saying yes when it matters most.
The Lost Necklace — Proof Dad Is Still Supervising Us
Even after Dad passed, we have moments where we feel him with us.
Sometimes it’s a flicker of a lightbulb at the right time.
Sometimes it’s something much more tangible — like the day Mom’s kidney necklace fell off while we were on the way to the airport. We found the chain, but the pendant could have been anywhere — in my apartment, in the snow, or gone forever.
It wasn’t.
The 29 Year PromiseThe Lost Kidney Necklace — Proof Dad Is Still Supervising Us