It all started with a fussy baby. From there, events serendipitously unfolded leading to a special bond between two women who started as strangers but turned into forever friends.
Amanda Hayhurst was waiting with her infant while her older son finished up his black belt tryouts at a tae kwon studio. Right on cue, the baby started to get restless. In an attempt to soothe him, she walked around the room cradling her child.
And that’s when she saw the flyer that would change her and Vonchelle Webb Knight’s life.
Knight has polycystic kidney disease and had to sleep every night hooked to a dialysis machine. Since no one in her family was an eligible donor, the single mom had been on the kidney donor waiting list for eight years, Fox 5 Atlanta reports .
When Hayhurst saw the flyer, she couldn’t get Knight out of her mind.
“It’s almost like I knew I was going to be a match before I finished reading,” she tells Fox 5 Atlanta. “This feeling was so overwhelming. My body felt tingly, and I saw it happening, I saw me going through with it.”
And that’s exactly what she did. After spending months going through tests, Hayhurst was approved to donate her kidney to Knight. Wanting to meet the mom, she worked with Knight’s kids to deliver the news in person. The heartwarming interaction was captured on film, showing the moment the two strangers became bonded for life.
Yes, you will need tissues.
“You’re my donor! Oh my god,” the mother exclaims through tears as the two embrace each other.
Both moms had surgery on Jan. 25 in side-by-side operating rooms. “Chelle is doing great! Her kidney is working and she will be released on Monday,” Hayhurst shared in a Facebook post.
The exchange has motivated the mom to help others like Knight. Becoming a champion for the cause, Hayhurst started a Facebook page to advocate for those searching for donors and to provide more information about the donation process.
