On February 11th, in Jacksonville, Tennessee, a mere three days before Valentine’s Day, Melissa DeGeso-Jones donated one of her kidneys to her husband, James Jones. Jones had been suffering from renal failure, which meant that his kidneys were unable to properly filter waste products from his blood. Renal failure is a very fast acting and potentially lethal condition. If Jones had not received a kidney from a donor, he would be kept in critical condition in the hospital, and would require intensive care. However with renal failure the effects may be reversible, and you may recover if you’re in relatively good health. The couple underwent the procedure on Monday, and it was a total success. Coincidentally, the couple had met two years ago on Valentines Day.
“I’m giving as much love as I have,” DeGeso-Jones said before the procedure. “It’s completely from my heart. James has said things to me about it being a huge sacrifice, and I said, ‘It’s not; it’s an investment. This is our life. It’s not just your life that I’m giving, too. There can’t be an ‘us’ without it.’ So, that’s what it’s about.” It’s clear that she is very loving and caring towards her husband, even going so far as to give a piece of herself to save him.
“It’s one of those things where I’ll continue to reciprocate this for the rest of my life, because you’ll never be able to give her anything that’s going to be able to match life,” James said. While some give candy, flowers, or stuffed bears to loved ones for Valentine’s Day, no gift can ever compare to giving the gift of life.
