Goshen mom battling kidney disease gets life-changing gift from best friend

After a lifelong battle with kidney disease, a Goshen mom finally got the lifesaving help she needed, all thanks to her best friend.Olivia Morgan and Lee Vest met five years ago at her mom’s restaurant, Lori’s American Grill.They worked there alongside one another, becoming fast friends.”We just hit it off, really, the first time I ever met him,” Morgan said. Their bond helped get Morgan through her toughest battle yet — kidney disease.”I was diagnosed at 12 years old,” Morgan said. “It’s actually a genetic thing. So, my mother herself had a transplant almost 15 years ago. And I have a twin brother that had a transplant a little over a year ago.”After the birth of her son, Morgan’s kidney function began declining and three years ago, she was put on the transplant list.Then, almost a year ago, she was put on dialysis. “I started out on a machine for ten hours a day, every day. So that was rough,” she said. Vest said he could see the toll it was taking on his friend.”My heart, it broke because I’ll say right now, no one should be in that situation, let alone her,” Vest said. He decided to see if his kidney could be a match for Morgan said. After weeks of waiting, he got news they’d both been praying for. “She said, your test results came back, you are positive, which means you are a match for Olivia, which was followed by oh my gosh, oh my gosh, no way,” Vest said. In July, the day finally arrived for the pair to have their surgeries.The outcome was better than they ever could have hoped for. “I don’t think I’d be able to ever express how thankful I am. I feel like he single-handedly saved my life. He gave me back my future, he gave me back the opportunity to be the mom that I want to be,” Morgan said. Morgan and Vest are now hopeful that sharing their story inspires others to learn more about becoming a living donor, saying this journey has changed both of their lives for the better.

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