No Greater Love Than This….
On a beautiful sunny April fifteenth, I met with two men. Not just any two men. One is to receive the other’s kidney. Jon, Jeremy, and I were sitting on lawn chairs in the backyard talking.
Jeremy Jacoby came back to Colorado after finishing college at Concordia University in St. Louis, Mo, and his first pastorate somewhere in Nebraska. He led a local congregation in Northglenn, Colorado before coming to Frederick, Colorado. Pastor Jeremy started a church in April of 2007 to reach folks who have left church or to reach those who have never attended. At 36 years of age with a wife and two kids, he joked with the doctors about doing a little lipo during the surgery. I was trying to figure out which one of these men was sick enough to qualify for a kidney transplant.
Thirty-three year old Jon Adams, from Milwaukee, has lived here in Lochbuie, Colorado for 2 1?2 years after finishing school at Regis University in Denver. Both men looked healthy with good color and a positive attitude.
Soon, I found out.
Jon, the recipient was told he needed a new kidney. He is on dialysis three times a week for four hours each time, after which he is totally wiped out for the rest of the day. Two small glasses of water is all he can drink in one day because his body does not get rid of it until his dialysis appointment. Yet, this young man is able to work three full days a week and he works on his laptop during dialysis.
The kidney donor for Jon was Jeremy, chosen after the patient’s father, mother and siblings were dropped from the list because of various health reasons.
Jon is without words to express how thankful he is to Pastor Jeremy and his church family. They bring meals and help watch his kids. “There is no way I can ever repay those people, especially Pastor Jeremy.” To which Pastor Jeremy’s commented “If I could help Jon and did nothing about it, then everything I had preached about unconditional love wouldn’t mean a thing.”
…Than a man lay down his life for his friends.
Contact Pastor Jeremy Jacoby 6145 E. 123rd Way, Brighton, Co 80602 303-518-4370 : http://familyofchrist.com
The surgery is scheduled April 29, 2008 at University Hospital, Denver, Colorado.
Statistically, donors live longer and are healthier that the general population. The hospital and the patient’s insurance pick up the bill for the donor. Please consider becoming an organ donor by signing the back of your driver’s license. Also, go to http://www.unos.org/ ( United Network For Organ Sharing) or go to : https://www.uch.edu/conditions/appointment/appointment.aspx for more information. Keith Broadbent
