BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Shawn Gaither, the e-911 director in Bardstown, is itching to get back to work.
"I'm ready to get back," Shawn said. "I've got too much to do."
Shawn has been off work since early May, preparing to get a new kidney.
Now, three weeks post-surgery, Shawn is recovering well.
"It's like I don't have kidney disease at this point," Gaither said. "I know that I'm getting healthier. The kidney's doing what it's supposed to do. It's flushing out of the toxins in my system. Those toxins take a toll on you after a while. It makes you tired, makes you lethargic. All those different things and those things are slowly going away."
Last September, Gaither had his second leg amputated because of complications related to diabetes.
At that time, doctors discovered his kidneys were failing and told he needed a transplant.
That's when his wife, Brooke Gaither, took to social media. Brooke shared Shawn's story everywhere she could think, hoping and praying to find a donor.
"I joined multiple groups — the I AM Dixie Highway, Eastern Kentucky groups, Western Kentucky groups," Brook said. "Any group that would allow me to, I joined."
It turns out Shawn's former coworker, Rhonda Thomas, was a perfect match and willing to give.
"I can't thank her enough," Shawn said. "There are a lot of emotions, a lot of testing to go through to get ready for this."
"I'm just excited we both have healed as well as we have," Rhonda said. "I want to encourage people to sign up or look into becoming an organ donor because there are so many people out there in need. Shawn, his wonderful wife, really put it out there on Facebook and it really helped I think. I'm sure a lot of people checked into becoming a donor for him and I'm just blessed that I was able."
Brooke said Rhonda's donation made her more than just a friend to them, it made her part of their family.
"Her gift was priceless," Brooke said. "Not only did it allow him to live his life. It allowed us, his family, to have him around a little bit longer."
Shawn now has three kidneys. The transplant increased his kidney function from about 13% to 60%.
If you have two healthy kidneys, you may be able to donate one.
To find out if you're eligible to be a live kidney donor, click here to visit the National Kidney Foundation's website.
According to the National Kidney Foundation, there are three main tests you have to take to find out if you're eligible to be a live donor: blood typing, tissue typing and cross-matching.
Blood typing checks to see if you're blood is compatible.
Tissue typing checks to see the differences in your tissue DNA.
Cross-matching takes some donor cells and gives them to the recipient to see if there's any reaction.
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