Man Donates Kidney To Wife As Wedding Anniversary Gift

A Florida man Cesar Calle has donated one of his kidneys to his wife Monica Calle, 39 for their 23rd wedding anniversary.

Monica told the Sun Sentinel that she was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, a disorder she inherited from her mother, a decade ago and spent the past several years undergoing dialysis and hoping for a donor.

‘I was in a lot of pain, I was scared, and I didn’t know if there was gonna be a miracle for me,’ she said.

She found out her husband was a perfect match in December and he immediately agreed to give her one of his kidneys.

‘This is an amazing gift,’ Monica said. ‘God put this man into my life for a reason. He really did put him 23 years ago in my life for a reason. He saved my life.’

The computer network technician said he was excited his wife, and the mother of his three kids was getting a ‘new start’ on life.

 ‘I feel like a million dollars. And I think I look like a million bucks, compared to before,’ she told the Sun Sentinel.

She added: ‘I felt like I just won the lottery. I started dreaming of what my future would look like, not having to do dialysis. The fact that I can actually travel now and not worry about carrying boxes with me or supplies, or worry if it’s gonna get lost. I felt so free.’

The surgeries were performed on February 19, a few days before the couple’s 23rd wedding anniversary at Memorial Transplant Institute in Hollywood where Monica works at the hospital scheduling surgeries for patients.

It was the first time the new institute had performed a kidney transplant, the hospital said in a press release. The surgeries were filmed live on the hospital’s Facebook page.

Dr Juan Areanas, who led the medical team who did Monica’s surgery, said it’s ‘very unusual’ to find a husband and wife match.