Sometimes, you find that second chance to help someone.
When Lainie Fox lost her father to kidney disease more than five years ago, she was devastated.
She had tried to help him by donating a kidney, but his disease had progressed too far along for that to happen. But now, by still having both her kidneys, she was able to instead help a friend.
Andrew Sayasane, who runs a pizza shop in Iowa, learned that he would need a life-saving transplant to replace his failing kidneys. He has to undergo dialysis for 5 hours a day, all while working six days a week.
“I’ll go in the office and shut the vents and so forth and continue to do my treatment and try to do it here to get back to work,” Sayasane said.
He has little time left to spend with his wife, Jayme, and their three-month-old daughter, Athyna.
“Even if he’s home, it doesn’t mean that he’s with us or we’re spending time together,” his wife said.
I would say probably eighty percent of the time that he’s home, he’s in the clinic doing his dialysis.”
Lainie Fox sits with Andrew Sayasane. Photo by KCCI
After posting on social media to try and find a donor, Sayasane was struggling to stay positive.
But Fox would soon have a surprise for Sayasane.
“I knew his story and my fiancé, Dennis, had tried to donate but didn’t qualify,” Fox said.
She said she knew that the loss of her father is what spurred her to rush and help Sayasane.
“I just remember the first thing I asked was, ‘Can I donate my kidney to (my father)?'” said Fox, recalling when her father was alive. “But he was too sick. I think that had a lot to do with me really wanting to help.”
Once Fox knew she was a match for Sayasane, the couple surprised him at his shop.
On the Facebook page for Winn’s Pizza and Steakhouse, Sayasane shared his gratitude for Fox.
Andrew Sayasane prepares a pizza in his shop. Photo from KCCI
“Your selflessness, compassion, and willingness to offer a piece of yourself to me are nothing short of heroic,” he wrote in the post.
You have given me a second chance at life, a chance to dream, to aspire, and to savor the simple joys that life has to offer.”
His transplant is scheduled for the end of the year.
“This journey has taught me that the world is filled with remarkable people who possess incredible generosity of spirit,” Sayasane said.
“It has shown me that even in the face of adversity, there is a profound sense of unity and compassion.”
Watch the moment Sayasane found out he had a donor, below.
