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News 13 Orlando
Three days before Valentine's Day, Florida woman Melissa DeGeso-Jones donated a kidney to her husband, James Jones, who was suffering from renal failure.
Three days before Valentine’s Day, a Florida woman gave her husband the most special gift of all – life.
On Monday, Melissa DeGeso-Jones had her kidney transplanted at Florida Hospital in Orlando to her husband, James Jones, who has been suffering from renal failure.
"(I’m) giving as much love as I have," DeGeso-Jones told Orlando’s News 13 before the surgery. "It's completely from my heart. James has said things to me about it being a huge sacrifice, and I said, 'It's not; it's an investment. This is our life. It's not just your life that I'm giving, too. There can't be an ‘us’ without it.' So, that's what it's about."
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The love between the couple from Lake Mary, Fla., who met two years ago on Valentine’s Day, impressed the surgeon who performed the procedure on Monday.
"Melissa is making the rest of us look bad," Dr. Giridhar Vedula told News 13. "Most of us buy an expensive box of candy and call it a day, but this girl is just something phenomenal."
News 13 Orlando
James and Melissa coincidentally met on Valentine's Day two years ago. When he learned he needed a transplant, she immediately went for tests and was found to be a perfect match to be a donor.
When it was determined James needed a kidney transplant, Melissa immediately got her kidneys tested and was revealed to be a match for donation.
"There wasn't any reservation, or never did I ever fathom the idea I wouldn't be," she said. "That's the funny part. I never thought, 'Oh, what if I don't match?' I just assumed I would."
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James also knows that some roses or a nice dinner can’t exactly measure up to the Valentine’s Day gift he has been given by his wife this year.
"It's one of those things where I'll continue to reciprocate this for the rest of my life, because you'll never be able to give her anything that's going to be able to match life,'' James said.
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Leave a Comment:
What a wonderful person, so admirable to see that good people still exist in this world and are willing to go the extra mile to prove their love and humanity knowing full well the complications that she faced. A real courageous and good woman !
God Bless her and her husband always
Agreed! I love love love stories like this. It should remind us all that there are still wonderful people in this world who care, love, and want to simply help! May they live wonderful long lives!
Yes, very uplifting! May they both live a long happy life together!
That is a really good wife! :)
Now he'll spend fifty years begging for a blow job.
she probably would have if it would have been you instead of him! - sorry, it was meant as a reply for the @!$%# who signs jj4two
That's great!
My sister gave her kidney to her husband last May 2012. He is doing well, he had to be put on steroids this year.
Best wishes to both of them. It is wonderful to know of such love.
I gave mine to a friend in December. We are both doing well. It's amazing to me what modern medicine does!
A beautiful couple. Lots and lots of love. Perfect!
I wonder how she is going to feel in a couple of years when the user packs up his stuff and moves on to a younger, better looking, richer, idiot white girl.
And what if they live happily ever after? you just can't stand seeing two people happy and in love can you? Don't be a hater, i will like to think that you are better than that.
I'm not a hater. It just makes me want to puke to see a white woman lower herself to the point that she would even let a non-white put hands on her. Where I come from she would be banished forever, or worse. If that makes me a racist so be it. I don't hate blacks, I hate everyone who isn't an anglo-saxon white.
Magic Rat--how fortunate for you that God decided to put your soul in an "anglo-saxon white" body instead of one of those inferior "non-white" bodies. Wherever you come from, please stay there.
WOW... the ignorance of some people! How in the hell do you get along in life without someone beating the @!$%# out of you all of the time?? I certainly hope you are sterile... just the thought of YOU raising any child or children makes me sick!!
I've heard stories of white people finding out their ancestors are black....Magic Rat (emphasis on the "rat")if you found out you had black ancestors, would you hate yourself? Wouldn't that be poetic justice?
Magic Rat is just mad that he is married to a cow who ****s all his black neighbors while he is at work.
Well Magic Rat you may want to either move away or kill yourself because there are alot of brothas who have disgraced themselves by sleeping with these devils! You just gotta deal with it!
It scares me to think that people like Magic Rat exist! Mr. Rat (I'm assuming that's your real name)-what would you do if YOU were laying in a hospital bed in need of a transplant and the only one available was from a 'non-white'? Would you accept it to save your miserable, cowardly life or would you say "No thanks, I'll pass'???
I'll bet you'd snatch that organ up in a heartbeat. Same as you would if you were in a car crash and a 'non-white' came to your aid or if you desperately needed money and was told Jay-Z or Oprah were in town willing to help you out...in those instances you'd look past color in a heartbeat as it would benefit you, would you not?!
I'm black and my hubby is white so thankfully I know from experience that not all whites are racist pricks like you. Also, again-you are a coward...hiding behind a computer screen spouting out crap you'd never dare say to a 'non-white's' face. What happened-did a black guy beat you up in middle school and you're still sulking about it? Geesh-please get a life, Rat Boy!
Lovely story...best wishes on a speedy recovery so this beautiful couple can enjoy a long life together!!!
Dang..Rat boy.you got burned..I am married to a white man and Thank God he is a MAN and not a racist pig like you. Did your wife cheat on you with a black man? Whats the deal here? Actually dont bother nobody cares..so Go to HELL rat.
First, I don't think she is WHITE. Maybe she is Latino. Who are you to judge? Love has no limits of color. Hate does! you are living proof of that.
HAHAHAHAHA What a bunch of idiots. I would never have to worry about living next to a black because I would insure that they moved out even quicker than they moved in. No, Lori, I would NEVER accept an implant from someone of a non-white race ( or any other race for that matter). Seems I remember something about "keeping your body (God's Temple) pure" and having the parts of someone else's body certainly ISN'T keeping it pure, whether they are of the same race or not. If it is a choice between a foreign body part and death, I'll chose death. When your time comes it is your obligation to accept God's Will. Accept money from Oprah or Jay Z? Never!! No good comes from ill-gotten gains.
♥
It's nice to know that there is still Good in this world.
I thank God above that I am not married to jj4two. You truly have a black heart. I love the story and truly hope that God blesses both of them with a very long and happy life together.
What a wonderful couple who deserve all the best and who also remind me that true love knows no boundaries.
another thing a negro gets free with out earning it!
Davesbad4u.... you're an ASS!
Dave you are another sad example why America still blames the black man for getting his needs met for free i'm sure you have never ever taken anything given to you for free right ?
You have never ran into bad times right ?
I think you need a bitter taste of misfortune to see that this is not about RACE you Idiot it is a Love story something your Black heart doesn't posses and i mean love for your fellow man !
Well said,David, right on!!.
Iam with you Tommy!@
Dave you are an idiot! Why are white people like you so stupid? Just a burning question i have!!!!
Davesbad << << << >> >> >> Of course, he earned it! While I (& U) do not know the details, it seems to me that he has been a wonderful friend, husband and lover---in that order---to her.
If i had to do it for my wife to keep her living for my child and us as a whole i would go through with it myself
People must remember though that is unconditional love without restraint not your typical relationship for sure
To Davesbad4u, jj4two and the rest of the cynical, bitter, racist bunch.
Your life sux, if you were to die of Renal failure your wife would be calling the insurance agency an hour later and thats why a story about love and hope, instead of making you feel good and positive, fills you with hate, bitterness and envy!
Sad..sad..life you losers lead
I agree Ariana3881356! Wow I cnanto believe this I really can't !
I agree, some people have miserable lives and hate the world. I used to get angry, now I just feel sorry for people like that. They must really be suffering to have such hate in their hearts. I also feel for the parents that raised them.
the best things in life are free
This is a very inspiring and caring love story. The strong love between this people is a great example of how much a person can love some one. We wish them the best and a long life of happiness.
thank you for sharing.
love
Now White people are donating their organs to Blacks. Is there anything else we can do for them?? We already adopt their kids.
Tarzan7- Did yo REALLY just say that! so if yo were dying and the only organ available was from black person - or spanish or Italian or Mexican etcc. you would not take it? Oh by the way have you adpoted any children?
Funny you say that Tarzan you were probably adopted
Sick...but Hilarious!!!
You need a reality check my friend.
Who asked you to do it b**ch?????
Tarzan7, instead of getting angry or thinking your funny, people just pity you. Any person of marginal smarts knows you obviously are having a tough life and it shows through your hate. We are all pulling for you and hope things turn around for you so love can enter your heart. Sorry for your difficulties.
Trade a kidney for the love of your life? You have two kidneys - you might never have a true love in your life more than once. You do what it takes to keep it.
He does not owe her anything - not a card ,not a gilft not a diamond - but his inconditional love and respect !!! If half of the peipel in the world would just get this part - I get gifts but - no affection - no love not even a kiss good buy or hello- but I have a choc diamnond ring that means nothing to me!!!
- this is the greatest gift they gave eachother - God Bless yo both and live a happy wonderful life God is Good!!!
Ariana, it sounds like your life is filled with just as much bitterness and hate as any of those of us who are brave enough to voice our true feelings; rather than hiding behind two-faced, hypecritical, bull$hit.
For all who see this as nothing by the Love of God in a woman who loves her man. May your heart RIP for it is dead. I hope you never need someone to a special gift for you. RED, YELLOW, BLACK, WHITE, BROWN. We are precious in GOD'S sight. I will send up a prayer for you right know.
Who the Hell wouldn't give one of there Kidneys to the love of there life?
I most likely wouldn't. I love me more and I couldn't take that risk with my life, not for a husband of only 2 years. Sorry.
Organicfitcutie - and that is your choice. As a living kidney donor, I can honestly say that thinking like that never entered my mind. I knew as sure as the sun would rise that I was supposed to donate to my cousin. He was worried for me and my health, which is natural, and I had to convince him to not wait for a cadaver donor. You can live a perfectly normal active and healthy life with one kidney. It's been 5 years and I am healthier now than I was then. It was the best thing I have ever done in my life and I would do it again if I had another to give.
It's a great story. kcterrilynn Kudos to you for doing such a wonderful thing. I was curious about the chances that a non blood relative would be a match? That was one of the most amazing parts of the story for me.
Thanks, mello. Bryan calls me his superhero, but in truth, he's mine. The chances of a non-blood relative match is more common than you'd think. There are 6 blood/tissue criteria that they use and it's uncommon for a non-sibling to match more than 3, but we matched on 5 as cousins, which is what helped me convince him that I was meant to be his donor. The surgery has changed from previous years, they no longer have to cut the donor basically in half - mine was laproscopic and the scar from the removal site is barely noticable. Bryan was up and walking two days before me, but that's normal. You take a sick person and give them a healthy kidney and their body reacts by having a party. You take a healthy person and their body is wondering what the heck happened! :) And like I said above, I'd do it again if I could.
Organic..... I am really sad for both you and your spouse... it doesn't matter whether it's day one of your marriage, or 60 years later...that kind of unconditional love should be there before you say "I do" and should only grow as the years go by...whether it be 2 or 22 or 42. I am very impressed by this woman who did give her husband a kidney, but sad for society in general that we think there is any alternative to a person giving their spouse all they can. This story should be a no-brainer. But the fact that it isn't shows why marriages don't last any more.
Organic, sad, sounds like you married just for the sake of getting married.
His wife should also be arrested for beastiality!
And you should be arrested for hate speech and just being a beast!
@ Magic rat, did your wife pack up her @!$%# and leave you? I got the inside scoop on that..
she didnt leave you bcos you are poor, ugly or old. She left you bcos you are an A**Hole!
Thank you and please zip you piehole.
Arianna, you know nothing about me. Proven by your comment about why my wife left me. I have never been marriedbecause i have never met a woman who deserved to have the honor of sharing my bed. Most of them were bitter, dried up shrews like yourself.
Daves . . . . . As should your wife !!!
oh that explains it Rat, No woman with half a brain would marry a moron like you.
Now since no one will marry you, definately no woman and surely No man.
Why are you so bitter and full of hate? abused by your father as a child?
actually nobody gives a @!$%#, the sooner you are dead..the world will be a better place. Goodbye ahole
I'm a living donor (donated a kidney to my cousin in 2008) and stories like this always make me smile. Living donation is a wonderful gift for both the donor and the recipient. After 5 years he is doing fantastic and everytime I see him with his wife and daughters, I am so thankful that I was able to help.
3 Questions:
1. Why is the media so avidly pursuing an interracial agenda, at every opportunity to show a couple?
2. Why is it ALWAYS a black man with a white woman, and NEVER the reverse?
3. If blacks are only 12% of the population, why are they represented at the rate of at least 50% in advertising and television shows?
@Boston because we spend a lot of money and unlike some idiots on here corporate America only sees green!
@tar,dan, and all you other racist bastards you know you dream about having some of this coffee in you your cream or cream in this coffee. Please stop pretending that you don't dream about it day in and out. If not why would you continue to express such hatred for a race who you feel is beneath you? Absolutely moronic
Boston sailor: You got that right. I always wondered that myself. It is Political correctness to the extreme. Blacks have the country by the Ash now. Whites adopt their kids, bend over backwards for them in everything but yet are still called Racists by Blacks. I do what I have always done for Blacks, Zip, Nada, nothing, zilch. And will continue.
Tarzan,
Why don't you go back to the jungle and live with the orangutans?
Boston Sailor, I know your from one of the racist places in the country, but you don't have to let your environment shape who you are and how you think. The article never mentioned race because that is irrelevant, except to you. Love has no color attached to it. Most organ donors don't know who they are benefiting because it doesn't matter. This story isn't about race, but that is your focus. Sorry you see the world through such a narrow lense and hope you can one day realize the story is about love not color.
Tarzan, you are a pig.
Poor white people, right?
..and you homesick yank are a two-faced hypecrit.
Boston Sailor - Regarding your point No. 2, the reason is that black women do not have longer, bigger ducks while the reverse is generally true. This is a welcome change for the white women who are sick and tired of short, sick and tired ducks, drawn to black males like flies onto a cube of sugar. Get the point?
Great story, lucky to be blessed with each other.
Oh wow, that is truly unconditional love. I don't know if I could do it though not for a husband of only 2 years. In fact, more than likely I wouldn't. Sorry, just keeping it real. God gave me 2 kidneys for a reason and I want and need both of them. I would only consider this for a few close close people, my mother and siblings. That's it. I wish them the best though and its good to know there are truly unselfish people like that in this world.
Most organ donors never meet their beneficiaries and don't care to. You mention God, Leviticus 19:18 says "Love thy neighbor as thyself, I am the Lord" It is easy to talk the talk but sometimes difficult to walk the walk. I am not trying to bash or judge you, just giving food for thought.
...most organ donors are dead Karl
Well, Biker, that would explain why they don't meet, wouldn't it? There are plenty of living donors, though... kidneys, bone marrow... and more...
@organicfitcutie
True but God made it possible for organ translpants to be successful. If he didn't want that, he would have made it impossible for a successful organ transplant, now wouldn't he?
well goddamn lady, that was a beautiful thing to do. might have just renewed my faith that nice women really do exist!!