Krystal Cable, 38, is a team leader for a company that builds custom fire trucks.
She lives in Shafer, Minnesota.
Dave Polen, 70, is retired from a career at a power plant.
He lives in Petersburg, Indiana.
Thats how I met Dave.
I started volunteering to drive kids to and from the hospital on my days off work.
A lot of people dont have reliable transportation to get there, or the money.
Krystal:Dave and my mom would talk a lot when he drove.
Dave:Krystal and her mom were outstanding.
We stayed in touch.
My wife and I attended Krystals wedding in 2015.
Then a few years later, I was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure.
She offered to be a donor.
But with her being a young mother, I felt I couldnt ask her to do that.
Krystal:I wanted to, though.
I had almost lost my husband to congenital liver disease.
He gave my husband the gift of life.
So when I heard Dave might need a kidney, I was, like, Yes.
Anything to give someone else that gift.
Dave:They told me it could be a five-year wait for a cadaver donor.
Some people die waiting.
In the meantime, I went on dialysis.
Its exhausting and time-consuming, but it keeps you alive.
So she did all the tests, and it turns out she was right: She was a match.
Last May, she and I had our transplant surgeries.
I cant thank her and her family enough.
You never can repay what she did, as much as I want to.
Krystal:I had always pondered why Dave was so good to us.
When he would stop by and we werent home, he would leave a stuffed animal or something.
It gave me an answer to a lot.
Dave:I tell myself every day how blessed I am that Krystal gave me her kidney.
Ive never been real religious, but I do a lot more praying now.
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