Four years ago, Tony Antonelli, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, thought he got a new lease on life when his wife donated one of her kidneys to him. But that kidney eventually started failing too.
Dan Reynolds said he could tell that last fall, as the two were talking outside Tony鈥檚 garage.
Reynolds retired from the Army after 22 years of service. For a while he was homeless, but now lives and works around Gaithersburg as a handy man. For years he鈥檚 done projects big and small for the Antonellis.
As he finished up one project last October, 鈥淚 noticed that he wasn鈥檛 looking that good at all,鈥� Reynolds said. 鈥淚 asked him if he was okay.鈥�
That鈥檚 when Tony Antonelli revealed his kidney was failing. After Reynolds found out they shared the same blood type, 鈥淚 was like, well, I鈥檇 be honored, I鈥檇 be happy, to give you one of mine if it鈥檒l work out,鈥� Reynolds recounted.
Tony rushed Mary Antonelli, Tony鈥檚 wife of 43 years, outside so she could hear the offer. 鈥淎ll through my head was 鈥極h my God, are you kidding me? How can this be?’,” she said. “I just started crying.鈥�
Thousands of people around the D.C. area are on the waiting list for a new kidney right now, though the number of transplants recorded in D.C., Maryland and Virginia every year doesn鈥檛 come close to meeting the need.
According to the American Kidney Fund, 13 people around the country die every day because they never found a match.
Dan had to go through a months-long barrage of tests to make sure there really was a match. Even during the height of COVID-19 outbreaks, he didn鈥檛 shy away from visits to the doctor and all the tests that came with it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 well worth it,鈥� Reynolds said on a Zoom call with Mary. 鈥淚鈥檇 do it again 100 times if I had to.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 just what he said to me in the recovery room,鈥� Mary said. 鈥淗e says ‘I鈥檇 do it 100 times again, Mary. We want our buddy to feel better. We just want him to feel better.’鈥�
The transplant happened Feb. 23. Tony has had some minor setbacks in his recovery, but his family is hopeful he鈥檒l be out of the hospital by Monday or Tuesday of next week.
Dan is out of the hospital and recovering at his daughter鈥檚 home in Silver Spring. He鈥檚 adamant that what he did is 鈥渁bsolutely not a big deal.鈥�
But the recovery process also means that Dan isn鈥檛 working right now. (OrganDonor.gov says Congress passed the law to make sure the wealthy don鈥檛 have an unfair advantage obtaining donated organs and tissues), so a and the Antonellis are doing everything they can to raise awareness of what Dan did and help him cover expenses.
While they鈥檝e traded a couple of phone calls and text messages, a shared Zoom call today was the first time they鈥檇 seen each other since the operation.
鈥淗e sent me a picture this morning; I said 鈥楪od you look great!,鈥� Mary said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 so thankful.鈥�
鈥淲hen I get back over that way, I know around our area I have a lot of home cooking coming,鈥� Dan said with a laugh.
鈥淵ou got that right!鈥� Mary said. 鈥淒an has always been slim and trim, I鈥檓 telling you, but Dan might be getting a little bit heavier.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 going to have to watch that but I know the area and the people are very, very nice all around our whole area there,鈥� Reynolds said. 鈥淚鈥檓 kind of looking forward to it.鈥�
The Antonellis have three children and 13 grandchildren. But in their minds, Dan Reynolds, who started this journey as a friendly acquaintance, is family now too.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not enough words to say how I feel and how Tony feels about this great gift and this great man,鈥� Mary said. 鈥淲hen you have 13 grandchildren, you have a lot of life to live and a lot of things to enjoy in life. And that鈥檚 what Dan has given us. The possibility to really enjoy our lives and our family and our friends and the gifts we鈥檝e been given to a fuller degree.鈥�
