Do you remember all of your classmates from high school? Chances are you don’t. Maybe you were nice to someone who wasn’t very popular, but you changed their lives just by talking to them. Hopefully, you have at least one person from the olden days that still remembers you fondly. And surprisingly enough, they might even save your life someday. In fact, that’s exactly what happened with Kenneth Walker and Charlie Ball. They were passing acquaintances back in high school. But it wasn’t until several decades later, when one of them needed a kidney that the other would come to their rescue.Walker and Ball graduated in 1969 from Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington DC. The two men barely knew each other in school and hadn’t talked since they graduated, but a medical emergency ended up bringing these two men together.
He immediately recognized the name of his old classmate and decided to send a reply. He got tested to see if he was a match. It turns out that he was. So, in a surprising turn of events, he told Walker that he would give him one of his kidneys.
It took a couple of months to set up a reunion in Washington, and that included all of Walker’s old classmates. About 20 classmates showed up and everyone began to talk about the good old days and what they’d been up to.
Walker was working for the National Public Radio in South Africa when he was misdiagnosed and ended up getting the wrong treatment. When he returned to the US 18 months later, he learned that his life was in danger and that he needed a new kidney.
Unfortunately, dialysis was only a short-term solution. So, when Ball responded to his e-mail, which he had titled “A request for life,” he thought, “what’s wrong with this guy?” He just couldn’t believe that someone would be so kind. But this incredible man would end up proving him that humans are capable of being simply amazing.
Generally, hospitals don’t take donors who are over 60, but since Ball was in good health and had passed all the medical exams with flying colors, doctors gave both men the green light to undergo the procedure.
The surgery was a success and both men continued to recover. Doctors claim that they’re doing well, which is great because Ball and Walker are hoping to leave the hospital alive and healthy in a couple of days.
The quote from Saint Francis of Assisi has been Ball’s life motto. In fact, he felt that this was all part of God’s plan, because he was given two kidneys for a reason, and one of them had saved Walker’s life.
