As we go about our day-to-day lives, we may come across dozens or perhaps even hundreds of people. Many of these people are just going to be faces in the crowd and we won’t really give them much attention, beyond the possibility of getting out of their way if we need to do so. From time to time, however, we may find someone who is more than just a generic face; they are somebody that touches our heart. We might not be expecting it and certainly, we don’t go out looking for it but when it happens, is nothing short of a magical moment.
Something similar to this happened to a freshman from Grand Canyon University. Her name is Karen Aguayo and she was shopping with friends at the local Costco in Arizona. They were minding their own business, walking through the store but suddenly they saw a man and he caught their attention. He was just rolling through the store on a motorized shopping cart and not really bothering anyone. It wasn’t the fact that he was in a shopping cart that surprised them, it was something that he had done in order to catch people’s eye. As it turns out, it worked quite well.
This man was wearing a T-shirt and it had some rather unique writing on it. When these university students took a look at the back of the T-shirt, they started to wonder about what it had to say. It was a moment in their life that truly defined them in many ways. It wasn’t so much the fact that the man had writing on the back of his shirt, it was what it said and the fact that they allowed it to touch their heart. You will be surprised at what it accomplished.
The man’s name is Robert Duran and he is 67 years old. He wears the T-shirt to get some attention and he and his wife are used to the attention that it gets them. Many people are simply going to stare in disbelief. Others, however, may be willing to come up to him and talk about it. After all, it is a very powerful message that is on the back of his shirt and it is not something that most people would put out there for the world to see.
The shirt itself is rather unassuming. It’s a plain black T-shirt with basic white lettering on the back. When an individual really stops to think about what it says, however, it is quite memorable. Robert and his wife both hope that someone will check out the shirt, someone like this university student, and they will take it a step further.
You see, Robert has kidney failure and he has to go for dialysis three times a week. Each session on dialysis lasts four hours! After a long wait, he was put on the list for an organ transplant. This only happened after he was diagnosed with having stage 5 kidney disease.
When Karen and the other students read his shirt, they decided to stop and ask him about what it said. They had a few questions to run by him, and it is little wonder, considering the message he wore. That message said:
“Kidney donor needed, Type B+, Ask me how.”
After that brief meeting, Karen felt compelled to do something about it. She posted a message on Twitter and she now has a mission of reaching as many people as possible. Since she posted that simple message, it has been retweeted over 250,000 times!
This man is not the only person living in the state of Arizona looking for a kidney donor. Over 2100 people need an organ, and that is according to the donor network of Arizona.
We came across this man at Costco and we asked him about his shirt. He said he has been looking for a donor for four years and still nothing. Please do me a favor and RT this. For more info about him DM me. pic.twitter.com/yHfDJGMw50
— kxrn? (@_kerrrn_) March 28, 2018
In the United States, the numbers are even greater. Over 95,000 Americans are waiting for a kidney transplant. In fact, kidneys are the number one organ on the transplant waiting list.
It isn’t really the effect of the disease or the dialysis, it’s the waiting that is difficult. Robert admits that it has been very hard on his wife and every time the phone rings, they wonder if it is an answer to their prayers.
Robert finds it difficult to believe that his trip to Cosco could have meant so much to him and his family. We really never know what is going to happen in life and sometimes it is those unexpected moments that really make a difference. He calls Karen and her university friends Saints.
Robert is still waiting for his perfect kidney match but while he is waiting, he would like to remind everyone to become an organ donor.
Make sure the world knows what this bighearted teen did. Please share this with your friends.