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what Waller didn’t know was that the diabetes Utt had been battling since

she was just 5 years old was becoming

increasingly fatal.

“After I started working for her she had a lot of stomach sickness and she couldn’t keep her food down and they thought it was stomach problems for a long time,” said Waller. “They finally determined that it was her kid-

neys that were making her so sick.”

At the age of just 27, Utt, who had already lost her eyesight in one eye because of her diabetes, was placed on dialysis, but her kidneys were deteriorating at a rapid pace. She was desperately in need of a kidney transplant to save her life.

After learning from Utt’s sister just how serious her health problems had become, 43-year-old Waller, a married woman and mother of three

boys, knew she had to help.

“When she [Utt’s sister] told me I said, ‘Well, what is her blood type?’” said Waller, who had donated blood in the past and knew her own blood type. “I don’t know why I didn’t think about what I was offering at the time … I just offered it [my kidney] right way.”

With no regrets and an unwavering determination to help save Utt’s life, Waller prepared for the