She hadn't seen her high school friend in 20 years but she made a donation that saved her life. She's this week's KRLD Difference Maker.
Megan Neitzal and Nono Osujee weren't much more than social media friends after graduating from Ursuline Academy of Dallas about 20 years ago, but in September Megan saw a post from Nono that she just couldn't move past.
Nono had posted a video explaining that she needed a kidney transplant and that it was a dire situation. Megan said most times, she'd scroll on through and move on, but something kept calling her.
"I just could not get it out of my head," Megan said. "So that night, I applied to be a donor for her. I told my husband and he looked at me like I was nuts."
Megan's husband was understandably concerned since they have 3 teenagers and a 2 year old.
Not long after, and after many tests, Megan was a match.
"We scheduled the surgery for December and I remember asking the doctors and the transplant team, 'Okay, so are you all going to let her know?' and they said, 'No, you get to the do that!"
This would be the first time the two women had spoken in 23 years. When Megan reached out, Nono was actually on her 12th day in the hospital, not feeling great.
"She said that she literally screamed it from the rooftops. Every nurse that would walk by her room, whether they were coming in to do labs or bringing her food, she'd say 'I'm getting a kidney!' And she just couldn't believe it. She said, 'I don't know how I'm ever going to thank you.'" Megan said.
Megan's husband and family got on board and the transplant was a success.
Now the two have an unbreakable bond.
Nono has a huge family and they all rallied around Megan and Nono during the transplant.
"They have a whole different culture. They are all from Nigeria and our family is just eating it up. They actually had spicy goat delivered to the hospital because they said it would help me heal faster. It's this whole new beautiful family that my family gets to experience," Megan said.
We're proud to call Megan Meitzal this week's KRLD Difference Maker.
"On this side of it, feeling that good, I would do it all over again," Megan said.
If you know someone making a difference in the community, send us an email at differencemaker@krld.com.
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