(WJAR) — The prayers of a Rhode Island man in desperate need of a kidney transplant have finally been answered.
For many people suffering from chronic illnesses, the wait for a vital organ transplant can be long and arduous.
This was the case for 62-year-old David Henault, whose year-long search for a donor ended closer to home than he ever expected.
He is a familiar face in the fishing community of Rhode Island.
A lifelong angler, Henault decided to trade his hours on the water to expand his Providence-based bait shop, Ocean State Tackle.
He has put in thousands of hours of work in the workshop over the past two decades.
Henault said nothing has deterred him from his passion for serving the community, not even a life-changing diagnosis of polycystic kidney disease nearly 18 years ago.
“I didn’t allow myself to identify as disabled,” Henault said.
At first he was able to get the progressive disease under control through diet, exercise and medication.
When his condition worsened early last year, he was left with no choice but to look for a donor for a vital kidney transplant.
“Last year I had acute kidney failure and was in the hospital for nine days. My kidney function dropped from about 30 percent to about 10 or 11 percent now and has remained at that level for over a year,” Henault said. “Without a living donor, I would have to go on dialysis.”
After more than a year of searching for a donor, no suitable donor was found, so a second chance at life came from an unexpected direction, Henault said.
His nephew Andrew offered his kidney for the procedure.
“You look at him like he was a little kid and now he’s helping me,” he said.
His nephew not only met the blood group requirements but also went through a rigorous screening process.
Despite initial reluctance, Henault eventually accepted his nephew’s gift.
“I wasn’t sure if my nephew would need his kidney. He is younger and I was not diagnosed until I was 40,” he said.
The transplant surgery is scheduled to take place on September 19 at Massachusetts General Hospital.
