Last November, Debby Neal-Strickland married the love of her life Jim Merthe. Just a couple of days later, she swapped a wedding dress for a hospital gown, and went under the knife to donate a kidney to Mylaen Merthe, her new husband's ex-wife.
Jim and Mylaen have had a good relationship as they raised two children, and Mylaen and Debby have always been friendly towards each other at gatherings, but they were never particularly close.
Mylaen has long been struggling with kidney disease, and by the time she was admitted to the hospital, her kidney was functioning at 8%. Though her brother volunteered to donate, he wasn't a match. But Debby was.
Debby wanted to make sure Mylaen was an active part of her soon-to-be first grandchild's life. Debby told AP she imagined Mylaen’s daughter giving birth, “and her mom not being there. I just couldn’t not try to change that. God told me, ‘You’re a match and you need to do this.’"
The surgery was finally scheduled two days after Debby and Jim's wedding, and though she initially wanted to change the date, her friends discouraged her because the couple had already waited 10 years, and have had to cancel twice in deference to their children who announced their own engagements.
So, two days after their nuptials, Debby went under the knife, and donated a kidney to her new husband's ex-wife. Debby said of her wedding day, "It was the most amazing day of my life, until two days later. That was also the most amazing day of my life."
Mylae moved in with her daughter, son-in-law, and grandbaby to recuperate. And she was graced with another grandchild this past March.
The women now call themselves kidney sisters, and are all planning a big family trip to Lake Rabun, Georgia this summer. Mylaen said, "This is what the world is about. Family. We need to stick together. She saved my life.”