TALLAHASSEE, Florida (WCTV): A call for help flashing in the sky. Tallahassee drivers may have noticed a recent digital billboard featuring a Leon County woman who was in serious need of a kidney transplant.
Missy Timmins has been living with polycystic kidney disease for about fifty years. It is an inherited disease. She is survived by her mother and two siblings. His late grandmother also had the disease.
Diagnosed decades ago, Timmins said he knew a transplant could be needed in life. But he suffers from a more aggressive form of the disease. In 2016, he was told it was time to look for a donor.
But five years later, he’s still waiting.
“I really thought it would be over,” he said.
His difficult journey is not without a supportive group of friends and family by his side. A lifelong friend, Brad Ray, was willing to donate his kidney immediately.
“Tomorrow I would cut it myself if I could,” he said.
But Brad’s blood type doesn’t match Timmins’. So he signed up for a pair donation program, looking for a pair similar to any part of the country that could open more doors to get Timmins to have the kidney he needs.
But even that proved fruitless. Still, Timmins appreciates Ray’s willingness to help.
“There are no words to tell someone who is willing to give a part of themselves to save your life,” he said.
His situation worsened last year. After several scheduled transplants canceled at the last second, Timmins came down with COVID-19.
“COVID has destroyed what’s left of the kidney function I had left,” he said.
Timmins completes eleven hours of home dialysis treatment a day. He said more intrusive dialysis treatment may be in his future as his condition deteriorates.
His friends knew he now needed a kidney more than ever. So a few got together and got the idea for the billboard.
“It was one of those ten factors,” Ray said. “Why didn’t we do it three years ago?”
Timmins said the advertising has already produced viable contacts. Several people are in the early stages to see if they could be a match. But having been burned before, Timmins is cautiously optimistic.
“It’s been an adventure,” he said. “A long journey.”
A journey that, hopefully, is nearing its end.
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