A police officer was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney failure and his live saving kidney transplant came from someone close to him.
Damon Hewin was in the United States Army and planned to have a lifelong career in the military. However, in 2010 he was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney failure. He adjusted his diet, was given some medication and got medically discharged from the military in 2014. He then got a job as an officer with the Auburn Police Department, knowing one day he would need a kidney transplant.
That day came in 2020. Hewin kept it a secret from his friends and co-workers because he didn't want to ask for help. He was told that he could spend five to seven years on the organ donation waitlist before a donor was available.
He got connected with DOVE Transplant, an organization that shares stories of veterans needing a kidney transplant in hopes of connecting them with potential living donors. They shared it on their Facebook page and over 50 people reached out to see if they were a match. One of his co-workers was one of them, Auburn Police Department Detective Jon Postawa. Postawa was a match for Hewin and after a successful surgery for both, they are both now back to work at the Auburn police department.
Postawa told news outlet King5, “In law enforcement, we train for the day, right? The day that we got to put our life on the line for somebody, whether it's a school shooting, running into a burning building, or whatever. We don't know when that moment is going to come in. I look at it as I got to choose that day.”
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