In 2010, Jason Travis suffered a life changing stroke. Already an insulin dependent diabetic, Jason faced many obstacles. Jason remained hospitalized for 6 1/2 months; during which time his wife, Danielle (D’Neal), reached the decision that she must retire from her position of 29 years as a Junior High Choir Director in the Klein School District. Jason had worked for Grant Prideco / VAM U.S.A. for 35 years and was their Quality, Health, Safety and Environment Manager for seven facilities. His sudden departure left a large hole in the company.

Five years earlier, Jason had his right kidney removed due to kidney cancer. After the stroke, Jason’s one kidney began to fail and Jason began dialysis. Both of Jason’s daughters, Jennifer and Jessica, left college and moved home to assist their mother and father during this difficult time of healing and rehabilitation. Jason’s doctor told him he would outlive his kidney. As the years passed, it became obvious that without a kidney transplant, Jason would be on dialysis for the rest of his life. His family, including his brother, was tested. Each was told they would not be able to donate for different reasons. The gravest problem facing Jason was the fact that given the seriousness of his physical health, he did not qualify to be placed on a donor list. During the entire time Jason was struggling to live and regain enough strength to be released from the hospital, Kathleen Coble, Associate Pastor at Klein United Methodist Church, ministered to the Travis family.

Kathy was greatly moved by the devotion each family member had for one another and how they did whatever was needed for each other and Jason, no less than the others. She realized that if she were accepted as a donor, it would be a donation for the whole family. The next steps were taken and all the testing was completed. It was finally determined that for Jason to receive a kidney, there needed to be another donor. In the final arrangement, four willing donors were matched with 4 people needing a kidney. In order for the transplants to take place, all 8 of the participants must be healthy, pass a final physical, and all report to the various hospitals so that the teams could harvest the 4 kidneys and transplant them in the matching recipients on the same day. Jason received a kidney from a donor in California and Kathy’s kidney went to a recipient in Ohio. There were so many miracles which happened on December 18, 2012, that it staggers the mind to imagine such selflessness on the part of the donors and the fact that the recipients were healthy enough to undergo a procedure which must take place on the same day. Of course, the answer is that with God, all things are possible.

It is my pleasure to nominate Pastor Kathleen Coble, Associate Pastor at Klein United Methodist Church, Spring, TX, for the Organ Donor Hall of Fame.