Latest news with #BruceGamble
CNN
14 hours ago
- Health
- CNN
Chimps Loves Trends as Much as We Do - CNN 5 Good Things - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
Krista Bo 00:00:00 Hey there, how we doing? It's a good day to look at the bright side, if you ask me. Karina Gunadi 00:00:05 We have seen what fires can do, and we're really hoping to reduce that distraction. Krista Bo 00:00:10 Fighting fire with pinecones? A startup is betting on it. Plus "monkey see, monkey do," might be the saying, but turns out apes follow trends like we do. From CNN, I'm Krista Bo, and this is Five Good Things. Krista Bo 00:00:28 'We all know that being a frequent flyer comes with perks. But for one man in Birmingham, Alabama, the benefits were life-saving. Bruce Gamble 00:00:36 There's a reason God gave you two kidneys. He wants you to share one. Krista Bo 00:00:39 'For nearly four decades, Bruce Gamble has been flying in and out of Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport because of his career as a car dealership consultant. A few years ago, the 74-year-old learned that he needed a new kidney because he has type 2 diabetes and his kidneys were failing as a result. Krista Bo 00:00:56 The National Kidney Foundation says the average wait time to get a donated kidney is three to five years. That's why doctors told him finding a living donor was his best bet. So he told just about anyone who would listen, including airport employees. Bruce Gamble 00:01:11 Somebody would say, how are you doing today, Bruce? I said, I'm doing fine, except I just need to find a kidney donor. And that opened the whole conversation up. Krista Bo 00:01:19 A little over a year into his donor search, Bruce opened up to a Delta Airlines customer service agent he was friendly with at the airport. They started discussing the testing required to actually donate a kidney. That's when a second agent named Jill Hickey joined the conversation. Jill Hickey 00:01:34 I jokingly said, you know, what are we getting tested for? And that conversation kind of took off. Krista Bo 00:01:40 Up until that point, Bruce says 10 people had volunteered to get tested to see if they'd be a match. Jill and other agents offered to do so too. Jill Hickey 00:01:48 My husband was like, you're gonna do what? How do you know this person? Bruce Gamble 00:01:52 Are you sure this is what you want to do? I was stunned, beside myself. Krista Bo 00:01:57 Jill ended up being a match. And about a year later, on December 9, 2024, they underwent transplant surgery. Bruce says he's now recovering at home, and it's going well. Bruce Gamble 00:02:07 God blessed me with Jill at this point in my life. She's extended my life and I've told her that many times. Jill Hickey 00:02:14 We were strangers at first, but we're more like family now. Krista Bo 00:02:21 Pinecones might make you think of Christmas and snow, but for a group of graduate students, they were their inspiration to fight fire. Karina Gunadi 00:02:29 We were looking at nature and how nature responds to fire. And one of nature's adaptations is pinecones. They have seeds that are only released after the presence of fire. Krista Bo 00:02:41 'These national adaptations to fire are a phenomenon called pyrosense. And it's what inspired Karina Gunati to co-found Pyri, a device that looks like a pine cone that aims to help fight wildfires by detecting them faster. Karina Gunadi 00:02:55 The earlier you can detect a fire, the less manpower you need and the less destruction it can cause. Krista Bo 00:03:01 'The 28-year-old met her co-founders in graduate school at Imperial College London and the Royal College for Art for a dual-degree program. When the designers came together for a group project in 2023, Pyri was born. Karina Gunadi 00:03:15 There is a special trigger inside of every Pyri device. And when fire approaches that trigger melts and that creates a signal send. That signal is received by either existing communication towers or dedicated receivers that take that information, they compare it against weather and satellite data, and then they send an alert out to the relevant authority. Krista Bo 00:03:40 'Extreme wildfires are growing more intense and widespread because of climate change. A UN group predicts a 30% increase in extreme fires by the end of 2050. So having lived through wildfires in California and Brazil, Karina and our co-founders aren't the only ones thinking about this. Krista Bo 00:03:58 'Catching wildfires is a multi-billion dollar fight. Satellites, lookout towers, and drones are all tools used to alert first responders to burning blazes. But in remote, under-resourced areas, tech like that is hard to come by. Karina Gunadi 00:04:13 The gap we're trying to fill is those remote areas that are really important to protect, but are not realistic for cameras for drones because cameras and drones need power. They need maintenance. They need a skilled worker to be operating or repairing them. And what we hope Pyri is, is a passive solution that can just be installed, air deployed, and then left alone until you need it. Krista Bo 00:04:38 Pyri plans to run more tests later this year and have a commercial launch in 2027. Karina Gunadi 00:04:43 We have seen what fires can do, and we're really hoping to reduce that distraction. Krista Bo 00:04:51 So while adults work to rebuild what's lost after natural disasters, one group is making sure kids get back items nearing dear to their hearts, their beloved stuffed animals. Ashley Reckdenwald 00:05:02 People know that stuffed animals hold memories, they hold emotions. They play such an integral role in a child's life, and we really want to give that back to them. Krista Bo 00:05:14 As a mother of three, Ashley Recktenwald started the nonprofit Land of Lovies after the wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year. Ashley Reckdenwald 00:05:22 Land of Lovies replaces stuffed animals after catastrophic events for children who have faced flooding, who have face wildfires, anything that has happened. So by helping out their children, I hope to be helping out the parents as well during these difficult times. Krista Bo 00:05:41 After devastating floods hit Central Texas earlier this month, people started pulling soaked teddy bears and plush animals out of the Guadalupe River, posting pictures online, hoping to find their owners. Volunteers are helping clean and catalog every stuffed animal found in the floodwater. And land of lovies could either send back the original if they can get it in good enough shape or track down an exact match. Ashley's favorite part? Watching the kids light up when they open the box. Ashley Reckdenwald 00:06:09 Many of them believe it's the same stuffed animal, and parents will come up with these beautiful stories around what that means. So they say, oh, we lost Bella in the flood and she was swimming along and she swam back to us. And it's stories like that that I think really make such a tragic event that could be a lot worse in the mind of a child so much better. "Mean Girls" movie clip 00:06:39 'I saw Caty Heron wearing army pants and flip-flops, so I bought army pants and flip flops. Krista Bo 00:06:44 Just like in the Paramount Pictures film, "Mean Girls," it only takes one trendsetter to start a movement. And turns out, new research suggests our closest animal relatives love a trend as much as we do. At a chimpanzee sanctuary in Zambia in 2023, researchers spotted something strange. The chimps were sticking blades of grass or sticks in their ears and their rears. Jake Brooker 00:07:09 And we thought, you know, this might seem a little bit weird and a bit random, but it reminded us of something that had happened about 15 years before. And it had become this social trend, like an arbitrary social custom. Krista Bo 00:07:22 'Jake Brooker is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Durham in England. He co-authored a study published this month in the journal, Brill that found this grass-in-the-ear habit wasn't random, it was a full-blown fashion fad. Jake Brooker 00:07:36 It's almost like flat jeans. There was a period where they were older age and then it really died down and then they had this kind of resurgence. Krista Bo 00:07:45 A female chimp named Julie was the first to start the look back in 2010. She passed away just a few years later. But now, fast forward 15 years, the behavior is back, thanks to her son, Jewel, who never even met her. Jake Brooker 00:07:59 It shows that these behaviors can outlive generations. It really, I think, mimics like a lot of things that we pass on to other generations. Krista Bo 00:08:07 And how did Julie start this whole trend? Caregivers at the sanctuary were seen cleaning their own ears with matchsticks. Jake Brooker 00:08:13 We think that they copied it because they like to just do what someone else is doing and they do it because almost expressing that they like them. Krista Bo 00:08:21 Jake says these seemingly silly behaviors actually say a lot. Chimps, like us, use trends to connect, communicate, and find their place. Jake Brooker 00:08:30 That really speaks to how deeply complex actually the chimpanzee social world that is perhaps a lot more similar to human lives than they may have thought before. Krista Bo 00:08:44 Up next, one man, two continents, and 518 days of running with a powerful message that couldn't wait. Stick with us, we'll be right back. Krista Bo 00:08:55 'Imagine running 8,262 miles. That's basically the equivalent of running the width of the U.S. about three times. But it's the distance that a 37-year-old British Ugandan runner recently completed, all in the name of challenging racism and highlighting the story of human migration. Deo Kato 00:09:16 You know, running has the power to change the world. Krista Bo 00:09:19 Deo Kato is an activist and running coach. On December 22nd, 2024, he became the first man to run from Cape Town, South Africa to London, where he was raised. The epic journey took him through 21 countries and lasted 518 days. Deo Kato 00:09:35 Having experienced racial issues living in the UK, I, along the lines of being told to go back where you come from, I wanted to do a campaign around that and say that if you're going to say go back to where you came from, I want to highlight for people that we all come from Africa. Krista Bo 00:09:52 Deo says Cape Town is home to some of the earliest human fossils and marks where humans then migrated to Northern Africa, Europe, and beyond. From there, he ran roughly one marathon a day, with the help of a logistics team in both cities and a driver who was there with him for moral support and carried vital supplies. And he kept friends, family, and fans updated with Instagram posts. Deo Kato Instagram Posts 00:10:15 So it's day 41 today, day 173, 291 of running from Cape Town to London to tell the history of human migration. Deo Kato 00:10:26 I was joined by young people, kids that were running with me, and I got a lot of joy out of that. And I had a kid that asked me, how does running help to end racism? And I think that running is just a vehicle for what I'm doing as an activist. It's very difficult to bring up a very difficult topic with very different people. But when you put it in the setting of sport, it breaks down those, you know, those barriers. Krista Bo 00:10:57 But there were also some low points. About 315 days into the run, Deo was arrested in South Sudan and detained for about three weeks. Then in Europe, he said police frequently stopped him, all over paperwork. He says he considered quitting briefly, but his supporters kept him going. Deo Kato 00:11:15 It felt nice because people are taking their time out and be able to assist me with everything else that I needed. So all I could focus on is just moving forward. Krista Bo 00:11:25 When he finally reached London in December, he was met by around 300 runners, friends, and family. Deo Kato 00:11:37 The finish line was way beyond what I expected. It was overwhelming and joyful, yeah, the perfect finish. Krista Bo 00:11:53 'All right, that's all for now. Join us tomorrow for the next edition of One Thing. Hear part one of a two-part series exploring the role psychedelics can play in therapeutic settings. With the Trump administration signaling interest and some experts concerned about safety, host David Rind speaks to a U.S. Army veteran who says a powerful hallucinogen helped her break free from addiction. Krista Bo 00:12:15 Five Good Things is a production of CNN Podcasts. This episode was produced by Eryn Mathewson, Lauren Kim, and me, Krista Bo. Our senior producers are Faiz Jamil and Felicia Patinkin. Matt Dempsey is our production manager. Dan Dzula is our technical director, and Steve Lickteig is the executive producer of CNN Podcasts. Krista Bo 00:12:34 'We get support from Joey Salvia, Alex Manasseri, Robert Mathers, Jon Dianora, Leni Steinhardt, Jamus Andrest, Nichole Pesaru, and Lisa Namerow. Special thanks to Alexandra Skores, Samantha Lindell, and Li-lian Ahlscog Hou. And thank you especially for listening. Take care, till next time.
CNN
4 days ago
- Health
- CNN
A frequent flyer needed a kidney transplant to live. This Delta employee gave him one
CNN — Bruce Gamble has been flying out of Birmingham, Alabama, since the late 1980s for his job as a consultant for car dealerships. Along the way, he got to know Delta Air Lines employees at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport pretty well, making a point of greeting the customer service agents during his almost weekly travels. Jill Hickey, a part-time Delta agent who's been with the airline for four years, got used to seeing Gamble stop by the customer service counter to get a water after his flights. Little did either of them know those encounters would save his life. Hickey, 57, said she believes she crossed paths with Gamble for a reason. 'I knew Bruce had been having some health concerns, but I didn't know the extent, how serious it was, and what it was that he needed,' Hickey said. In November 2022, Gamble, now 74, discovered he needed a kidney transplant. Gamble has been a Type 2 diabetic since 2002, and an internist noticed his kidney function was declining. He was told his blood type had a three-to-five-year waiting list for a kidney from a deceased donor. By then, he would be 75 to 78 years old, ruling out surgery. He was left with no option but to be 'an advocate' for himself, he said. 'It really started when somebody would say, 'How are you doing today, Bruce?' and I said, 'I'm doing fine, except I just need to find a kidney donor,'' he told CNN. That revelation 'opened the whole conversation up' about what donating an organ entailed, he said, including compatibility testing and making sure the donor is healthy. He started talking to people about his search for a kidney during his trips to the airport and just about anywhere else he went. The wait Gamble faced is average at most centers for a kidney transplant from a deceased donor, but in some parts of the country, it can be even longer than five years. Waiting times depend on several things, including the length of time a patient has been on dialysis or on the transplant waitlist; blood type; where the patient lives; and their antibody levels, according to the National Kidney Foundation. But a kidney transplant from a living donor can be faster. 'I'm here for a purpose' One evening, some Delta employees were talking about ways to help Gamble, whom they had all met at one time or another through his trips in Birmingham. Hickey overheard her coworkers' conversation. She and a coworker decided together that they would get tested. When she brought the idea to her family, her husband and kids questioned her a lot. She's a mother of two daughters, both in their late 20s, and one of her daughters was in tears out of fear of what could happen in surgery. But her family ultimately understood why she wanted to help. Hickey works as an elementary school teacher for gifted children during the day. Throughout her career in education, Hickey has met students who needed organ donations. Recalling those moments in her life, she said, made her want to help someone who might be in that same situation. If healthy and able, Hickey was going to donate. 'I was stunned, beside myself,' Gamble said when he learned of Hickey's intention. He told his wife of 51 years that a donor had emerged from all the time he'd spent spreading the word. Kidneys transplanted from a living donor are more likely to start working right away and may last longer than those from a deceased donor. Kidneys from living donors last an average of about 15 to 20 years, according to the National Kidney Foundation, compared with 7 to 10 years for those from deceased donors. A person can live a full life with one kidney but must protect the remaining organs by staying as healthy as possible, the foundation says. Over two years, Gamble had 10 other people volunteer to be tested, but all were disqualified for varying reasons — then came Hickey, the 11th person to be tested. Not everyone who wants to donate is able to give, but the test found that Hickey and Gamble were fully compatible. 'When Jill called me and said she was an exact match, I can't tell you – I was just speechless at that point,' Gamble said. 'But here we are. God blessed me with Jill at this point in my life. She's extending my life, and I've told her that many times.' Hickey's decision felt especially fateful after she was gifted a daily devotion book from a friend of Bruce's. She opened the page to the date of the surgery, and it read, 'Let Me lead you step by step through this day. If your primary focus is on Me, you can walk along perilous paths without being afraid.' 'It really solidified my faith that everything is going to be all right, that I'm here for a purpose,' Hickey said. 'Our paths crossed at the right time for a reason.' A remarkable gift Gamble's desperate search for a donor isn't unusual. There are not nearly enough organs to fill kidney transplant needs. About 90,000 people are on the kidney transplant waitlist, according to data from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration cited by the National Kidney Foundation. In 2023, about 27,000 people received a kidney transplant — and roughly 6,300 of those were from living donors. Gamble and Hickey underwent surgeries in December 2024 in Birmingham. During the procedure, doctors discovered issues with the blood vessels around Hickey's kidney that could have caused more health problems. The result was a longer surgery, but one that still went smoothly. Months after the surgery, Hickey, Gamble and their spouses went on a trip to California. Gamble has collected animation art for over 35 years. On their trip, Hickey bought artwork of Marvin the Martian, which Gamble hopes will 'get her hooked' on the hobby. Hickey said that Gamble's love for animation art sparked creative ideas that will apply to her teaching job. The two couples enjoyed spending time together and they say it won't be their last vacation as a group. Donation doesn't change life expectancy for donors. In fact, some studies, according to the National Kidney Foundation, have shown living donors live longer than the average person because only the healthiest people are accepted for kidney donation. In some ways, life has gone back to the way things were before. Hickey is teaching gifted children full-time during the school year, and she works for Delta as a customer service agent in the evenings. Gamble travels on occasion. He's 'semi-retired' but continues to do some training at car dealerships. In one important way, however, things are forever changed. 'We were strangers at first, but we're more like family now,' Hickey said.
CNN
5 days ago
- Health
- CNN
A frequent flyer needed a kidney transplant to live. This Delta worker gave him one
Bruce Gamble has been flying out of Birmingham, Alabama, since the late 1980s for his job as a consultant for car dealerships. Along the way, he got to know Delta Air Lines employees at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport pretty well, making a point of greeting the customer service agents during his almost weekly travels. Jill Hickey, a part-time Delta agent who's been with the airline for four years, got used to seeing Gamble stop by the customer service counter to get a water after his flights. Little did either of them know those encounters would save his life. Hickey, 57, said she believes she crossed paths with Gamble for a reason. 'I knew Bruce had been having some health concerns, but I didn't know the extent, how serious it was, and what it was that he needed,' Hickey said. In November 2022, Gamble, now 74, discovered he needed a kidney transplant. Gamble has been a Type 2 diabetic since 2002, and an internist noticed his kidney function was declining. He was told his blood type had a three-to-five-year waiting list for a kidney from a deceased donor. By then, he would be 75 to 78 years old, ruling out surgery. He was left with no option but to be 'an advocate' for himself, he said. 'It really started when somebody would say, 'How are you doing today, Bruce?' and I said, 'I'm doing fine, except I just need to find a kidney donor,'' he told CNN. That revelation 'opened the whole conversation up' about what donating an organ entailed, he said, including compatibility testing and making sure the donor is healthy. He started talking to people about his search for a kidney during his trips to the airport and just about anywhere else he went. The wait Gamble faced is average at most centers for a kidney transplant from a deceased donor, but in some parts of the country, it can be even longer than five years. Waiting times depend on several things, including the length of time a patient has been on dialysis or on the transplant waitlist; blood type; where the patient lives; and their antibody levels, according to the National Kidney Foundation. But a kidney transplant from a living donor can be faster. One evening, some Delta employees were talking about ways to help Gamble, whom they had all met at one time or another through his trips in Birmingham. Hickey overheard her coworkers' conversation. She and a coworker decided together that they would get tested. When she brought the idea to her family, her husband and kids questioned her a lot. She's a mother of two daughters, both in their late 20s, and one of her daughters was in tears out of fear of what could happen in surgery. But her family ultimately understood why she wanted to help. Hickey works as an elementary school teacher for gifted children during the day. Throughout her career in education, Hickey has met students who needed organ donations. Recalling those moments in her life, she said, made her want to help someone who might be in that same situation. If healthy and able, Hickey was going to donate. 'I was stunned, beside myself,' Gamble said when he learned of Hickey's intention. He told his wife of 51 years that a donor had emerged from all the time he'd spent spreading the word. Kidneys transplanted from a living donor are more likely to start working right away and may last longer than those from a deceased donor. Kidneys from living donors last an average of about 15 to 20 years, according to the National Kidney Foundation, compared with 7 to 10 years for those from deceased donors. A person can live a full life with one kidney but must protect the remaining organs by staying as healthy as possible, the foundation says. Over two years, Gamble had 10 other people volunteer to be tested, but all were disqualified for varying reasons — then came Hickey, the 11th person to be tested. Not everyone who wants to donate is able to give, but the test found that Hickey and Gamble were fully compatible. 'When Jill called me and said she was an exact match, I can't tell you – I was just speechless at that point,' Gamble said. 'But here we are. God blessed me with Jill at this point in my life. She's extending my life, and I've told her that many times.' Hickey's decision felt especially fateful after she was gifted a daily devotion book from a friend of Bruce's. She opened the page to the date of the surgery, and it read, 'Let Me lead you step by step through this day. If your primary focus is on Me, you can walk along perilous paths without being afraid.' 'It really solidified my faith that everything is going to be all right, that I'm here for a purpose,' Hickey said. 'Our paths crossed at the right time for a reason.' Gamble's desperate search for a donor isn't unusual. There are not nearly enough organs to fill kidney transplant needs. About 90,000 people are on the kidney transplant waitlist, according to data from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration cited by the National Kidney Foundation. In 2023, about 27,000 people received a kidney transplant — and roughly 6,300 of those were from living donors. Gamble and Hickey underwent surgeries in December 2024 in Birmingham. During the procedure, doctors discovered issues with the blood vessels around Hickey's kidney that could have caused more health problems. The result was a longer surgery, but one that still went smoothly. Months after the surgery, Hickey, Gamble and their spouses went on a trip to California. Gamble has collected animation art for over 35 years. On their trip, Hickey bought artwork of Marvin the Martian, which Gamble hopes will 'get her hooked' on the hobby. Hickey said that Gamble's love for animation art sparked creative ideas that will apply to her teaching job. The two couples enjoyed spending time together and they say it won't be their last vacation as a group. Donation doesn't change life expectancy for donors. In fact, some studies, according to the National Kidney Foundation, have shown living donors live longer than the average person because only the healthiest people are accepted for kidney donation. In some ways, life has gone back to the way things were before. Hickey is teaching gifted children full-time during the school year, and she works for Delta as a customer service agent in the evenings. Gamble travels on occasion. He's 'semi-retired' but continues to do some training at car dealerships. In one important way, however, things are forever changed. 'We were strangers at first, but we're more like family now,' Hickey said.
CNN
5 days ago
- Health
- CNN
A frequent flyer needed a kidney transplant to live. This Delta worker gave him one
Bruce Gamble has been flying out of Birmingham, Alabama, since the late 1980s for his job as a consultant for car dealerships. Along the way, he got to know Delta Air Lines employees at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport pretty well, making a point of greeting the customer service agents during his almost weekly travels. Jill Hickey, a part-time Delta agent who's been with the airline for four years, got used to seeing Gamble stop by the customer service counter to get a water after his flights. Little did either of them know those encounters would save his life. Hickey, 57, said she believes she crossed paths with Gamble for a reason. 'I knew Bruce had been having some health concerns, but I didn't know the extent, how serious it was, and what it was that he needed,' Hickey said. In November 2022, Gamble, now 74, discovered he needed a kidney transplant. Gamble has been a Type 2 diabetic since 2002, and an internist noticed his kidney function was declining. He was told his blood type had a three-to-five-year waiting list for a kidney from a deceased donor. By then, he would be 75 to 78 years old, ruling out surgery. He was left with no option but to be 'an advocate' for himself, he said. 'It really started when somebody would say, 'How are you doing today, Bruce?' and I said, 'I'm doing fine, except I just need to find a kidney donor,'' he told CNN. That revelation 'opened the whole conversation up' about what donating an organ entailed, he said, including compatibility testing and making sure the donor is healthy. He started talking to people about his search for a kidney during his trips to the airport and just about anywhere else he went. The wait Gamble faced is average at most centers for a kidney transplant from a deceased donor, but in some parts of the country, it can be even longer than five years. Waiting times depend on several things, including the length of time a patient has been on dialysis or on the transplant waitlist; blood type; where the patient lives; and their antibody levels, according to the National Kidney Foundation. But a kidney transplant from a living donor can be faster. One evening, some Delta employees were talking about ways to help Gamble, whom they had all met at one time or another through his trips in Birmingham. Hickey overheard her coworkers' conversation. She and a coworker decided together that they would get tested. When she brought the idea to her family, her husband and kids questioned her a lot. She's a mother of two daughters, both in their late 20s, and one of her daughters was in tears out of fear of what could happen in surgery. But her family ultimately understood why she wanted to help. Hickey works as an elementary school teacher for gifted children during the day. Throughout her career in education, Hickey has met students who needed organ donations. Recalling those moments in her life, she said, made her want to help someone who might be in that same situation. If healthy and able, Hickey was going to donate. 'I was stunned, beside myself,' Gamble said when he learned of Hickey's intention. He told his wife of 51 years that a donor had emerged from all the time he'd spent spreading the word. Kidneys transplanted from a living donor are more likely to start working right away and may last longer than those from a deceased donor. Kidneys from living donors last an average of about 15 to 20 years, according to the National Kidney Foundation, compared with 7 to 10 years for those from deceased donors. A person can live a full life with one kidney but must protect the remaining organs by staying as healthy as possible, the foundation says. Over two years, Gamble had 10 other people volunteer to be tested, but all were disqualified for varying reasons — then came Hickey, the 11th person to be tested. Not everyone who wants to donate is able to give, but the test found that Hickey and Gamble were fully compatible. 'When Jill called me and said she was an exact match, I can't tell you – I was just speechless at that point,' Gamble said. 'But here we are. God blessed me with Jill at this point in my life. She's extending my life, and I've told her that many times.' Hickey's decision felt especially fateful after she was gifted a daily devotion book from a friend of Bruce's. She opened the page to the date of the surgery, and it read, 'Let Me lead you step by step through this day. If your primary focus is on Me, you can walk along perilous paths without being afraid.' 'It really solidified my faith that everything is going to be all right, that I'm here for a purpose,' Hickey said. 'Our paths crossed at the right time for a reason.' Gamble's desperate search for a donor isn't unusual. There are not nearly enough organs to fill kidney transplant needs. About 90,000 people are on the kidney transplant waitlist, according to data from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration cited by the National Kidney Foundation. In 2023, about 27,000 people received a kidney transplant — and roughly 6,300 of those were from living donors. Gamble and Hickey underwent surgeries in December 2024 in Birmingham. During the procedure, doctors discovered issues with the blood vessels around Hickey's kidney that could have caused more health problems. The result was a longer surgery, but one that still went smoothly. Months after the surgery, Hickey, Gamble and their spouses went on a trip to California. Gamble has collected animation art for over 35 years. On their trip, Hickey bought artwork of Marvin the Martian, which Gamble hopes will 'get her hooked' on the hobby. Hickey said that Gamble's love for animation art sparked creative ideas that will apply to her teaching job. The two couples enjoyed spending time together and they say it won't be their last vacation as a group. Donation doesn't change life expectancy for donors. In fact, some studies, according to the National Kidney Foundation, have shown living donors live longer than the average person because only the healthiest people are accepted for kidney donation. In some ways, life has gone back to the way things were before. Hickey is teaching gifted children full-time during the school year, and she works for Delta as a customer service agent in the evenings. Gamble travels on occasion. He's 'semi-retired' but continues to do some training at car dealerships. In one important way, however, things are forever changed. 'We were strangers at first, but we're more like family now,' Hickey said.
CNN
5 days ago
- Health
- CNN
A frequent flyer needed a kidney transplant to live. This Delta worker gave him one
Bruce Gamble has been flying out of Birmingham, Alabama, since the late 1980s for his job as a consultant for car dealerships. Along the way, he got to know Delta Air Lines employees at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport pretty well, making a point of greeting the customer service agents during his almost weekly travels. Jill Hickey, a part-time Delta agent who's been with the airline for four years, got used to seeing Gamble stop by the customer service counter to get a water after his flights. Little did either of them know those encounters would save his life. Hickey, 57, said she believes she crossed paths with Gamble for a reason. 'I knew Bruce had been having some health concerns, but I didn't know the extent, how serious it was, and what it was that he needed,' Hickey said. In November 2022, Gamble, now 74, discovered he needed a kidney transplant. Gamble has been a Type 2 diabetic since 2002, and an internist noticed his kidney function was declining. He was told his blood type had a three-to-five-year waiting list for a kidney from a deceased donor. By then, he would be 75 to 78 years old, ruling out surgery. He was left with no option but to be 'an advocate' for himself, he said. 'It really started when somebody would say, 'How are you doing today, Bruce?' and I said, 'I'm doing fine, except I just need to find a kidney donor,'' he told CNN. That revelation 'opened the whole conversation up' about what donating an organ entailed, he said, including compatibility testing and making sure the donor is healthy. He started talking to people about his search for a kidney during his trips to the airport and just about anywhere else he went. The wait Gamble faced is average at most centers for a kidney transplant from a deceased donor, but in some parts of the country, it can be even longer than five years. Waiting times depend on several things, including the length of time a patient has been on dialysis or on the transplant waitlist; blood type; where the patient lives; and their antibody levels, according to the National Kidney Foundation. But a kidney transplant from a living donor can be faster. One evening, some Delta employees were talking about ways to help Gamble, whom they had all met at one time or another through his trips in Birmingham. Hickey overheard her coworkers' conversation. She and a coworker decided together that they would get tested. When she brought the idea to her family, her husband and kids questioned her a lot. She's a mother of two daughters, both in their late 20s, and one of her daughters was in tears out of fear of what could happen in surgery. But her family ultimately understood why she wanted to help. Hickey works as an elementary school teacher for gifted children during the day. Throughout her career in education, Hickey has met students who needed organ donations. Recalling those moments in her life, she said, made her want to help someone who might be in that same situation. If healthy and able, Hickey was going to donate. 'I was stunned, beside myself,' Gamble said when he learned of Hickey's intention. He told his wife of 51 years that a donor had emerged from all the time he'd spent spreading the word. Kidneys transplanted from a living donor are more likely to start working right away and may last longer than those from a deceased donor. Kidneys from living donors last an average of about 15 to 20 years, according to the National Kidney Foundation, compared with 7 to 10 years for those from deceased donors. A person can live a full life with one kidney but must protect the remaining organs by staying as healthy as possible, the foundation says. Over two years, Gamble had 10 other people volunteer to be tested, but all were disqualified for varying reasons — then came Hickey, the 11th person to be tested. Not everyone who wants to donate is able to give, but the test found that Hickey and Gamble were fully compatible. 'When Jill called me and said she was an exact match, I can't tell you – I was just speechless at that point,' Gamble said. 'But here we are. God blessed me with Jill at this point in my life. She's extending my life, and I've told her that many times.' Hickey's decision felt especially fateful after she was gifted a daily devotion book from a friend of Bruce's. She opened the page to the date of the surgery, and it read, 'Let Me lead you step by step through this day. If your primary focus is on Me, you can walk along perilous paths without being afraid.' 'It really solidified my faith that everything is going to be all right, that I'm here for a purpose,' Hickey said. 'Our paths crossed at the right time for a reason.' Gamble's desperate search for a donor isn't unusual. There are not nearly enough organs to fill kidney transplant needs. About 90,000 people are on the kidney transplant waitlist, according to data from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration cited by the National Kidney Foundation. In 2023, about 27,000 people received a kidney transplant — and roughly 6,300 of those were from living donors. Gamble and Hickey underwent surgeries in December 2024 in Birmingham. During the procedure, doctors discovered issues with the blood vessels around Hickey's kidney that could have caused more health problems. The result was a longer surgery, but one that still went smoothly. Months after the surgery, Hickey, Gamble and their spouses went on a trip to California. Gamble has collected animation art for over 35 years. On their trip, Hickey bought artwork of Marvin the Martian, which Gamble hopes will 'get her hooked' on the hobby. Hickey said that Gamble's love for animation art sparked creative ideas that will apply to her teaching job. The two couples enjoyed spending time together and they say it won't be their last vacation as a group. Donation doesn't change life expectancy for donors. In fact, some studies, according to the National Kidney Foundation, have shown living donors live longer than the average person because only the healthiest people are accepted for kidney donation. In some ways, life has gone back to the way things were before. Hickey is teaching gifted children full-time during the school year, and she works for Delta as a customer service agent in the evenings. Gamble travels on occasion. He's 'semi-retired' but continues to do some training at car dealerships. In one important way, however, things are forever changed. 'We were strangers at first, but we're more like family now,' Hickey said.
