Dean Ledbetter, left, and J.P. Nelson discuss their kidney transplant journey.
Nelson had just started attending services at Ledbetter’s church, St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Hickory. The church added Nelson’s name to the prayer list when doctors told him he could receive a kidney.
“My wife saw it, and she asked me about it that Sunday afternoon,” Ledbetter said. “‘What do you think if I try to donate a kidney?’”
Ledbetter and his wife, Susan, both completed donor questionnaires. Soon after they discovered not only could Ledbetter donate a kidney, but that his kidney would be a perfect match for Nelson.
Nelson received the news his first day in dialysis.
“When I found out somebody readily donated, I’m like, ‘Who is this person, and why would they donate to me?’” Nelson said.
Ledbetter says he knows the kidney he donated was always meant for Nelson.
“I had the easy part in all this,” Ledbetter said. “All I had to do was go lay down on the bed and take a nap. Other people have done a lot of work with prayer, taking J.P. to appointments and just being there for him.”
He said he’s grateful for the support from his colleagues at NCDOT, along with the department’s time-off policy for organ donation, which allowed him to attend appointments for the procedure without using any vacation or sick leave.
“Working for the Department of Transportation made this so much easier, just from the support that I got from supervisors, from management,” said Ledbetter, whose role takes him from the High Country to the Charlotte metropolitan area.
Ledbetter returned to work within weeks of the transplant, and his wife is hoping to become a donor soon. Doctors recently cleared Nelson to return to church and other public activities, telling him his recovery is one of the fastest they’ve seen.
“It’s a great feeling to know I’ve done something to change somebody else’s life,” Ledbetter
NC Dept. of Transportation