Church member answers prayer for kidney
Published: September 26, 2005
Brian Sands didn’t need tests to confirm what he already knew.
Sands, 41, was sure he could provide a matching kidney to Jane Miller, 62.
The only thing the two Miller Twp. residents knew about each other was that they both attend Pine Grove Church of God.
That’s where Sands learned Miller needed a transplant to replace a kidney ravaged by diabetes. She had been on dialysis for more than four years.
On Aug. 30, Harrisburg Hospital doctors removed Sands’ left kidney and transplanted it in Miller. His surgery took three hours; hers took five hours.
Today, they are both recovering and sharing in the glow that goes with saving a life.
“I feel good. I feel good that I did it,” Sands said.
Miller has a twin sister who could not donate her kidney because she also is diabetic. Miller’s friend, Martha McDermott, wanted to donate but also was told she was not a suitable donor.
McDermott spread the word at Pine Grove Church, as did Pastor Michael Witmer.
“Jane just kept getting weaker and weaker. I told the people in the church. I just asked everybody to pray for it,” Witmer said.
Sands decided to get tested. He doesn’t know why.
“Maybe it was the force that told me to,” Sands said.
The Sunday after the transplant, McDermott took pictures of Sand’s healthy kidney to church and showed everyone the gift he had given Miller.
“The good Lord will repay him,” McDermott said.
Sands is getting back into his daily routine and expects to return to work at the end of the month. He said the operation was not as painful as he expected, and the support of his wife, Tonya, made the whole process much easier.
Miller is on the way to recovery. She receives dialysis three times a week. The kidney is expected to work at full capacity in six weeks.
Miller said she will always be grateful.
“Brian gave me a good thing to do — to continue on living,” Miller said.
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