A New Jersey man’s prayers for a new kidney were answered by a woman from Texas who decided to willingly donate it after she saw a Facebook post by the man’s wife.
48-year-old, Roy McIntosh, received a kidney transplant at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, because of a kind stranger, Heatsher Schafer.
Roy McIntosh needed a type B+ kidney and his wife Toshira Maldonado-McIntosh decided to post a message on the Facebook group “The Laughing Christian” asking for prayer for her husband’s condition in December 2021.
The post said, “Please pray for my husband that God sends a type B+ living kidney donor to him,” read the post. “We believe in God for a miracle. Please pray for him.”
Toshira is a woman of faith and although she did not know any of the group’s members, she felt led to ask for prayer. Meanwhile, more than 1,700 miles away, in Harker Heights, Texas, Heather Schafer, a military wife saw the post and decided to do something about it.
She said, “I read the message and thought, ‘That’s for me,'” Heather said. “Somehow I just knew I had a part to play. So, I messaged the lady about 30 minutes later and wrote, ‘I am B+ [blood type] and I’d like to look into if I can donate my kidney.'”
Toshira wasn’t sure about it but gave Heather the contact information to the living-donor coordinator and was hopeful that God would answer her prayer. “What are the odds that a Caribbean man in New Jersey and a woman from Scotland living in Texas would even find one another, let alone be compatible?” she asked.
Heather and Roy went through many tests for several months which proved that they were a perfect match. Heather has documented her journey on YouTube, in a video series called “Adventures with My Kidney.” She said, “Making the videos helped me organize my own thoughts and explain the process to my loved ones. I also hoped sharing my story would remove some of the mystery and help other people consider becoming an organ donor too,” Heather said.
Now after the successful kidney transplant, Roy, no longer needs dialysis which previously he would have for 3 days a week, 5 hours a day. “I feel 20 years younger!” he said. He knows it was God’s plan to match them.
Roy, his wife, and four of their five children met Heather and her two children, eight weeks after the successful surgery. The tearful reunion happened on Roy’s front lawn and cemented the bond between the two families forever. “We love Heather and we are forever grateful,” Roy said.
As for Heather, she concluded by saying “Perfect stranger, perfect match, perfect God.”
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