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Facebook post leads to North Texas friends reconnecting for successful kidney transplant
There was a successful kidney transplant at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas following a Facebook post that reconnected old friends.
DALLAS - There was a successful kidney transplant at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas following a Facebook post that reconnected old friends.
"It was a fairly lengthy post and I normally don’t read the posts, but for some reason that morning, I decided to read it," Dennis Armstrong recalled.
"Being able to travel with my friends again without worrying about that, to try to carry this equipment so I can do dialysis. It’s just so much pressure off of me now," Bobby ‘Lamont’ McGensey said.
The story of Armstrong and McGensey actually began on the campus of the University of North Texas 26 years ago.
Armstrong was a football recruit transferring to the campus from another college.
"When we met 26 years ago, when my running backs coach introduced me to Bobby, it was just, ‘Hey, this is a good person, somebody you need to hang out with,’" Armstrong recalled.
They became fast friends and spent every weekend together, along with others in a tight-knit group.
"Two young college kids having fun, full of life and never a dull moment," McGensey said.
Then life took them on separate paths and they lost touch.
But when McGensey’s wife posted on Facebook about his need for a kidney, Armstrong stepped up immediately.
[REPORTER: "What did you think when you saw Dennis reached out, knowing you all had lost touch for a while, and he wanted to help?"]
"I felt it was amazing because for him to step up that fast. He was calling the coordinator like on a regular basis," McGensey said.
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"In my opinion, there’s a lot of divinity in this. I don’t believe it’s just circumstance and things didn’t just happen for a reason," Armstrong added.
Divinity with a good dose of humor, and a message. McGensey now has both his own kidneys and the new one from his friend.
"I’ve got one good one and two bad ones," McGensey joked.
The two friends are now sharing their story in hopes of helping others.
"I would encourage anyone and everyone to do everything you can for anyone that is in need of a kidney or organ," Armstrong said.
"It’s a miracle because people go years on dialysis without finding matches and to have one as soon as I got on the list, it was a miracle," McGensey said.