Man Donates Kidney to Fiance

Man Donates Kidney to Fiance

Posted By: Matt Pearl

WATCH VIDEO http://www.11alive.com/rss/rss_story.aspx?storyid=133175

There's a couple from Stone Mountain that, like so many these days, have fallen on hard times.

But this past week, what one young man did for his wife-to-be shows how much good one can do -- even when things aren't going well.

Hollie Johnson was 20 years old when she was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease. Six years -- and 33 surgeries later -- it had only gotten worse.

"When I go to the clinic," Johnson said, "it was really sad in there. You know, a lot of people give up."

But then came along Jerold Daniels. He wasn't having the greatest go of it, either, having just lost his job in IT early in the economic downturn.

But then, Jerold met Hollie -- at a Memorial Day barbecue hosted by a mutual friend. And even on that first day, Hollie had enough trust in her future husband to tell him everything that had been going on.

"I would come over and visit," Jerold recalls, "and I would see what she went through on a daily basis.

"And not one time has it affected the person that she is."

And that's when Jerold decided to help Hollie's cause -- he signed up to donate one of his kidneys to his new love.

The transplant took place Tuesday, and so far, all has been successful.

To learn more, and to donate money to Hollie's cause, check out http://theholliejohnsonfoundation.blogspot.com.