Then & now

Airman, March, 2005 by Chuck Roberts

When her husband faced a deadly struggle against kidney failure six years ago, then-Senior Airman Terri Honeycutt took action. She spearheaded a drive to find a kidney for her husband, Jay, as he endured 12 hours of weekly dialysis treatment. But the prospects grew dim when she learned he had joined more than 42,000 others on a waiting list lasting as long as five years.

lay had encountered two close calls with death before his condition stabilized with dialysis, but there was still a realistic possibility of contracting a fatal infection. After Jay's family members were ruled as ineligible donors, the Airman convinced military officials to allow her to donate a kidney. She wasn't a perfect match, but so far has proved to be a perfect fit.

"It is such a miracle to be able to share something like that. It's not something you think you're capable of," said now-Staff Sergeant Honeycutt, an ophthalmology technician at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio. Although the transplant was successful, it's not permanent. Ironically, the medication Jay takes to prevent his body from rejecting his new kidney will eventually cause it to lose function anywhere between one to 15 years. Sergeant Honeycutt faces a similar situation. Any medication she takes now is filtered through only one kidney, so she must take care when taking medication. But she said they focus on what they have and the time they have to share, not on what lies ahead.

"With each passing year, the percentage goes down, but six years to us is a blessing," she said. Jay is seeking a degree in business management at a local university and has "pretty much been taking care of us," the sergeant said of his selfless attention to his family and others. And when the time comes for a new kidney, his step-daughter, Nikki, has already stated her desire to donate one of hers. That's no surprise from this religious close-knit family.

"You definitely learn to appreciate each other," she said. "We don't take anything for granted. We were always close, but now we're closer than ever."