OAK HILL, WV (WOAY)- According to Donate Life America, nearly 124,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for some form of organ transplant. Here in southern West Virginia, it is no different.
Fayette County native Bonnie Franklin was diagnosed with Nonalcoholic Cirrhosis in 2017. She was on the transplant waiting list for three years before she got the call that changed her life.
“A friend of mine called me, and I hadn’t seen her in 15 years. We had actually met in 1997, and I babysat all four of her children. Well, she called me one day and asked me to pray for her and her friend, as they were both having surgery. And so, of course, I told her yes. And she went on and on, and we just talked like we’d seen each other yesterday. And she said, ‘Do you want to know my friend’s name?’ And I said yes,” Franklin said. “She said, ‘It’s you. I felt led by God to contact UVA, I’ve already had all the tests done, and we’re a 100% match.’ So over Thanksgiving, we did our liver transplant.”
Her friend that made the donation is Sharon Crookshanks Hoke (image below).
However, in 2020, Franklin got COVID-19 and was left her on a ventilator. After being flown to the hospital, they found out that COVID had sent her into kidney failure.
While waiting for her next transplant, she has to go through dialysis treatment about three times a week for sessions that last from three to four hours each. That’s on top of several medications.
“You’re just so tired afterwards, you don’t feel like doing anything. You don’t feel like going out with your family, you don’t feel like babysitting, you don’t feel like going to church, or out to eat, or to the grocery store. All you want to do is sleep,” said Franklin.
Her life has forever been changed by organ donation, and she wants to remind everyone about what they can do.
“It’s really important to be a donor. You could be a donor for anyone.”
