What a difference four months have made for a South Tamaqua man and his family.
In May, the odds that 38-year-old John Nakata would be around for another summer were not that great, as he needed a new kidney - as soon as possible.
Then his wife, Sherry, met a family friend in a store and things changed dramatically, as that friend - 39-year-old Traci Moyer of the Tamaqua-Lewistown Valley area - agreed to donate a kidney to Nakata, whom she had known since they were teenagers.
The Standard-Speaker first published a story about Nakata's plight on June 1, 2010. At the time, the husband and father of a then-5-year-old boy was fighting for his life, asking family, friends - and even strangers - for a kidney.
Complicating matters was that Nakata has rare type O negative blood, making the task of finding a donor match more difficult. Also, he had diabetes that progressed into another stage after high blood pressure had ruined his own kidneys.
His name was placed by doctors on a kidney-pancreas waiting list, which has a shorter time of three to four years, instead of a kidney-only list, which has a six- to seven-year waiting list.
"About 250 to 300 people sent emails offering to donate their kidney but none were a match for me," Nakata said.
One woman was born with three kidneys - two left kidneys and one right kidney - and she was willing to give up one of her left kidneys, but the match wasn't good, according to Nakata.
He was receiving hemodialysis treatments three days a week for four hours each day while he waited for someone between 21 and 60 years old with type O negative blood to step forward.
But time was running out.
Moyer then came to the rescue.
She met the criteria, and the transplant was scheduled after Nakata's longtime friend agreed to donate her kidney.
"She was like an angel. I'm indebted for life to her," he said.
On May 17, doctors at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia performed the transplant.
Moyer said she had full support from her husband and two children, and once she agreed to donate her kidney the blood-testing began.
"Once I talked to the doctors at the hospital who wanted to know if I had any reservations I was ready to have it done," Traci said.
She had to lose 10 pounds in one month but did better than that and lost 20 pounds to prepare for the surgery.
"I kept going and have lost 50 pounds since the (transplant) operation and I've never felt better," Moyer said.
"I am living proof you can live with only one kidney. I exercise and I feel great and as a wife and mom who keeps active I can also tell any woman thinking about donating a kidney that they can still have babies after such an operation. I'm as healthy as I can be at this time."
Moyer said she was in surgery for three hours, and that doctors removed her kidney and put it in a cooler as they turned their attention to getting Nakata ready.
As soon as they put the kidney into his body, the doctors looked for the organ to produce urine, a sure sign that it was good.
"The whole process was amazing. John has had a rough road," Traci said.
At the time of the transplant, Nakata said he was taking 16 pills a day (eight prescriptions) to control his blood pressure.
After the operation his blood pressure returned to normal, and he no longer had to undergo hemodialysis treatments.
More importantly, Nakata said, his 6-year-old son, John, soon would begin seeing his dad at his soccer matches.
He promised his son that if he had a kidney transplant he would get him a puppy. That promise was taken care of in the form of Max the Shih Tzu.
"It was worth it to see his son get his dad back," Moyer said.
Things have returned to some normalcy in the Nakata household in the past four months, though Nakata is not out of the woods regarding his health issues.
"I've had two heart attacks and two mini-strokes but I kept fighting and pushing to stay strong to keep my head up high," he said.
Now the family - John, Sherry and John Jr. - is doing reasonably well.
He is on permanent disability and must take anti-rejection medication for life. He has diabetic neuropathy which, affects nerves in his legs. He must wear braces on his feet, and the neuropathy causes pain. Nakata takes painkillers and since he is diabetic must take insulin. He must get blood work done every two weeks at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown and he must watch his potassium levels.
Despite those issues, Nakata views his kidney transplant as a second chance and more time to spend with his family, something that was only a dream just four months ago.
"I got a second chance on life because of Traci," Nakata said. "I feel 100 times better and we're both doing well (since the transplant operation)."
He referred to Moyer and her family as "just like part of our family," and said he calls her every day.
Moyer said Nakata calls her "his angel." She added that her family - husband, Lenny; 17-year-old son, Zach, and 10-year-old daughter, Sabrina - have been very supportive, along with everyone at Zion Church in the Lewistown Valley.
"Neighbors cut down trees that had fallen after a storm and some brought dinner soon after I came home from the hospital," Moyer said.
She said she lost her own brother 11 years ago and remembers how it hurt the family.
"I was glad to do it. I love John like he is a brother to me," Moyer said.
Nakata said they had been out of touch for the last four years until his wife ran into Moyer at a store.
Now, he said, there is a special bond between them.
Nakata's new kidney has given him a chance to celebrate his 15th wedding anniversary with his wife and to spend more time with his son, including watching his soccer matches.
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