TULSA -- A Tulsa man found out eight years ago he would need a kidney to stay alive, and after years of trying and failing to find a perfect match, it turned out that match was by his side the whole time.
“This will sound very strange, but it almost still doesn’t feel real," said Troy Bell, a father, husband and pastor in Tulsa.
He sits in an empty hospital room no longer a patient, but a visitor.
He remembers when a doctor's visit took a turn.
“He said well let's do a little bit of further testing, which we did. And it came back that I had kidney disease.”
Doctors told him his best bet for a match would be a family member.
“I was just kind of scared for him, but not wanting it to be me kind of," said his cousin Dysheka Turner.
She remembers being a senior in high school when she found out.
“When I heard it there was a voice, that sounds weird, but it said 'That’s you.' And so I was like, 'No it’s not Lord, you’ve got the wrong one.'”
God spoke to her, but out of fear she waited, saying God's voice never let up.
So eventually, she called Troy.
“He didn’t really want me to donate, I could tell.”
Troy was reluctant.
“Thank you, I appreciate it, but we should be fine," he said.
She tried multiple times, but no wasn't an option after he almost lost his battle.
“I wouldn’t be able to go to his funeral, or look his kids in the face anymore knowing - I knew that I was the one and I was just afraid," Dysheka said.
She asked a third time.
"I said I better pay attention to this. There’s really something here.”
Fast forward to last week, Dyshkea put her hospital gown on without a single doubt.
“I kept saying the whole day we’re ready to go," she said. “Then I woke up and it’s been a fairytale ever since.”
Troy woke up a new man, with a new lease on life.
“Now having all of that behind us is a miracle I can’t really explain.”
This afternoon his doctor walking in to the room, not for a check-up but a victory lap.
One that ends with Troy and his wife crossing the finish line winners of an eight-year marathon.
The baton passed by a family member who knew all along things would end just like this.
“Just so he can be the family man he’s always been, the pastor, the man of God he’s always been. That’s what I hope for him," his cousin said.
Troy said he now hopes to go back to hospitals and encourage Dialysis patients through their process.
He's also looking forward to reopening his church next year.
Find a Go Fund Me link to help the family with medical costs here.
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