Pastor Has a Casual Conversation With His Pharmacist – Then She Makes Him an Offer He Can’t Refuse
His pharmacist stepped up to donate her kidney, and the two created an unbreakable bond.
We’ve all been guilty of using hyperbole in our relationships before. We promise our loved one we would take a bullet for them or give them a kidney without question.
However, when push comes to shove, many of us would never risk our own lives to help someone else. Especially someone we are not related to.
Only the very kindest, most generous souls would ever give a stranger a kidney. Luckily for one pastor from North Carolina, there are some generous souls out there willing to help.
How a Pastor Formed an Unlikely Bond With His Pharmacist
Donnie Pickeral is a pastor at Aycock Fellowship Ministries in North Carolina. Now middle aged, Donnie has been battling kidney disease since he was only 19 years old. Back then, he was told that he wouldn’t live to see his hair grow gray — his kidneys would fail long before then.
Donnie, though, has never been one to take bad news lying down. He decided to take his health into his own hands and do whatever he could to extend his life. He made enormous lifestyle and diet changes, all while keeping up with his rigorous medication regimen.
Needless to say, Donnie became fast friends with the pharmacists who served him given how much he had to go pick up medication.
One day, he went into Kathleen Kirkland’s CVS and was blown away by the customer care he received there. He immediately switched pharmacies.
Donnie started going to Kathleen’s pharmacy in 2017, but in 2019 his kidney function had dropped to under 10% and things were not looking good for the pastor.
For the first time in a long time, Donnie began to fear that the end was near.
In casual conversation, Donnie mentioned to Kathleen that he was on a transplant list, but that things were not looking very good.
Kathleen immediately offered to give him her kidney.
“She said, ‘I want to give you my kidney.’ Tears came to my eyes cause I wasn’t expecting her to say that. We talked a bit more and found out we’re the same blood type. We did a fist bump and she started doing her tests and she was a perfect match for me. I felt in my heart when I walked out of that store that the Lord was saying to me she was the one. No one else was even testing. She was the one,” Donnie said.
“I feel like God puts people in your path for a reason and I feel like Donnie came to my pharmacy for me to help him,” Kathleen added.
How One Pharmacist Proved the Importance of Selflessness
Kathleen never had any doubt that she was doing the right thing by donating her precious kidney. Not only for herself and for Donnie, but for the world.
“I knew he had so much more left to give the world. I was happy to be able to help him do that,” she said.
The operation was successful and both Kathleen and Donnie were thrilled about the results — and about the unbreakable bond they had created.
Donnie now considers Kathleen his family. He will never forget what she did for him. Even before the amazing organ donation, she always made him feel welcome and well taken care of at her pharmacy.
As far as Kathleen is concerned, nothing she did is extraordinary.
“I just feel like I did a good thing and helped someone when they were in need. I was in the right place at the right time and God put us there together,” Kathleen said.
There are guardian angels everywhere, we just have to be in the right place and the right time for them to reveal themselves!
