Cory's Story

Cory came down with a bad sinus infection. When she went to her doctor, he said her blood pressure was abnormally high. After some blood work and a kidney biopsy, Cory learned she had three different kidney diseases. While she was still trying to process her diagnosis, her 12-year-old son Jay seemed to be losing his hearing. Cory and her husband would call his name and, at first, they thought he was ignoring them. But her momma-instinct gripped her. Cory brought Jay to the doctor who confirmed that he had indeed lost a great deal of his hearing. Because hearing loss is commonly connected to kidney disease, the doctor recommended Jay have his kidneys examined as well. That's when they received the shocking news: Cory had kidney failure and her son Jay did, too. Both of them needed kidney transplants.

Cory insisted that her son receive treatment first. She wanted his name on the donor list immediately to receive a transplant. After two months of tests, Jay's name was added to the donor list, and, as fate would have it, so was Cory's. The duo's transplants were scheduled just two weeks apart.

Through all the treatments and blood work, the staff at the AdventHealth Transplant Institute became family to Cory and Jay. The team championed the family when both came out of successful surgeries with a clean bill of health. Today, mom and son are loving life. Jay is back to running and swimming with full energy, and Cory is enjoying every single moment of their back-to-normal family time.