Hi I am a kidney and pancreas transplant recipient, I just got my new organs January 27,2021 I am 43 years old I had diabetes from the time I was fourteen years old, I have suffered all the complications of the disease including kidney failure. I was on the waiting list for 15 months. I was in and out of the hospital because I was sick all the time that my family and some of my friends did not think I would make it to getting a transplant. I got my call from the Jacksonville Mayo Clinic at 620 am on the 27th to say they think they had a match for me, I live with my parents and my father was up so I put my phone on speaker so he could hear what was being said while waking my mother up. I did tell the lady on the phone that I could only come to the hospital if they really thought they had something for me because I live two hours away from them and that day I had to go to dialysis and they sometimes call me o come in early and the lady said that she was very sure they had organs for me and she was so happy for me. I was told to have a bag packed the day I got put on the list which I did not do because I knew I might be on it for a long time so needless to say I ran around trying to figure out what to pack I did make a list of what to pack the day I got put on the list but of course I could not find it. The hard thing for me was the fact that my father could not be with me and my mom due to the pandemic but he was with my mom in the lobby waiting to hear how everything went. And also I could not see him till I got out of the hospital eight days latter. One of my sister gave me a key chain that says the greatest hero I never knew was the organ donor that saved my life. I am very grateful to my donor and his or her family for giving me a wonderful gift that I will never forget them.