Contributed
April is National Donate Life Month! West Bladen High School and the West Bladen Peer Group Connection, along with advisers Gaye Davis and Patricia Beasley, continue to encourage and promote organ donation by sharing stories of those connected with Bladen County whose lives have been improved or saved thanks to organ donors.
Mrs. Lauren Perry Lumley is a 2008 graduate of West Bladen High School. Her husband, Tyler Lumley, was very young when he knew he would need a transplant due to Alport syndrome, a genetic disease that could damage his kidneys and hearing, but he and Lauren never expected that he would be in need of the transplant at the early age thirty-two.
In 2019 Tyler was placed on the kidney transplant list, and in October of 2019, he began at home dialysis and had to make several lifestyle changes. Until he was finally able to receive the surgery, he felt very weak when he did some physical activities. Although his body was weak, his “support system was as strong as a rock” and his “church family was just icing on the cake.” According to Tyler, what helped him most in those difficult times “was knowing everything would be okay” and that God would take care of him.
Mr. Lumley was notified in February of 2020 there was an organ donor who was a match. The match was not only someone he knew, but someone he worshiped with at his church. Tyler and Lauren are “forever grateful” for the generous gift of the kidney. This precious donation has allowed Tyler to live a life again that includes physical activities like co-ed softball, golf, and working out. Tyler Lumley sends this amazing message to everyone who is in need of an organ: “Never give up, never isolate yourself, people care, find a church, and share your story!”
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