FEB. 14TH IS NATIONAL DONOR DAY –
Today, we’d like to recognize Matt Bohl, 31 of Enterprise who is a recipient of a kidney transplant. CCHT spoke with Matt who tells us a little about his brotherly-love story.
“It all started two weeks before Thanksgiving 2020”…. Matt went to get a haircut and felt very bad, which he ended up going to the doctor and having several tests performed. It was told that he had high blood pressure and sent him on his way.
A short time later, after-hours, the doctor called from his personal cellphone and instructed Matt to go to the emergency room immediately that he noticed something in the test results that indicated his kidneys were in bad shape.
Over time and after several more doctor visits, his kidneys kept getting worse which ultimately led to starting dialysis in March of 2023.
Matt was given the option to either wait it out to see if the kidneys would correct themselves or be placed on a transplant list. He chose to be placed on the waiting list at UAB in September since he was going to be waiting during the process anyway.
His brother, Ron Bohl went to see if he could help out, but he wasn’t a match.
However, that didn’t stop Ron from helping. Ron was paired up with another UAB waiting list couple who ended up being the perfect match!
After a year and a half of dialysis, and just before Christmas, Matt finally received word that he, his brother and the donor match were scheduled for the surgery on December 20, 2024.
Here we are on Valentine’s Day in 2025 and he tells us he feels better than he has in a very long time. “Life is good” proclaimed Matt, “Dialysis really takes a toll on your body, but now I feel like I can be free and do more activities again”.
His next follow-up visit is in March of this year to go over lab work to make sure everything is still successful.
“I’d like to say a special thank-you to my brother Ron and also my donor Nicole, if it weren’t for them, I’d still be on dialysis waiting on a transplant”.
CCHT was made aware of this donor story and thought it would be a perfect story for not only showing the love of two brothers but also for National Donor Day 2025.
Although there’s way more to this story, we wanted to share a small portion of it with you. Help us congratulate and send Matt Bohl best wishes on his upcoming appointments and future progress!
