LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Chase Cooper and his wife, Kaila, didn’t know what to do, so they turned to social media.
“I was told the best way to get your message out is using social media,” Kaila explained. “We put a post out, and it was shared so many times,” she continued.
Kaila and Chase spoke with us following a ceremony at University of Kentucky’s Chandler Hospital to commemorate National Donate Life Month. Six weeks ago, Chase got the kidney he needed as he was in an advanced stage of renal failure.
“I feel great,” he said of his current condition.
He’s not yet been cleared to return to work near his Summersville home, but that day will come. He also hasn’t had to wait to see and thank his donor, Hanna Durbin.
“We went to church with her and had dinner at her grandma’s,” Chase said.
Hanna saw the Facebook post and notified Kaila that she was already getting tested to see if there was a possible match.
“There are not enough words in the English dictionary to accurately show how thankful we are for her selfless act,” Kaila said.
Hanna couldn’t attend this morning’s ceremony, but now, for obvious reasons, she will be wherever Chase goes.
“She’s like family now. She’s not a stranger,” Chase joked.
She saved his life because if Hanna hadn’t come through, someone other than Chase might have represented the hospital at this event.
“Typically, people wait 2-5 years before receiving an organ, and in his case, we didn’t have that much time,” Kaila said.
Now, her 29-year-old husband and the father of her kids have plenty of it.
“This is a lifelong thing for us,” Kaila said of their future relationship with Mrs. Durbin. The Durbins and Coopers live only 45 minutes away.
*If you’d like more information on becoming a living kidney donor in Kentucky, click here: Living Kidney Donor Program | UK Healthcare (uky.edu)
