DALLAS — Carrie Gehling has always been a faithful woman, and it finally paid off.
"I haven't felt this good since high school — and that was over 25 years ago," she said, adding: "We'll just leave it at that."
Gehling has battled diabetes for most of her life. She lost part of her left leg, had four heart attacks, and spent more than a decade on dialysis.
"Desperate, very desperate," she said. "They had basically given me two more years on dialysis and that was it."
After years of getting turned downed for a kidney transplant, Medical City Dallas finally agreed to the procedure — with the provision that Gehling find a kidney donor.
Monsignor Mark J. Seitz is pastor at St. Rita Catholic Community in Dallas, where Gehling worships. When she asked him to pray for her, he took it a step further and got tested as a possible donor. It was a match.
"It's been a tremendously rewarding experience," Seitz said. "A way God has given me to feel closer to the Lord that I serve that didn't only give a kidney, but his whole life."
"He is truly a man of God," Gehling said.
Two months after receiving the gift of health, Gehling prays daily for other North Texans who are on transplant waiting lists — from children to adults.
"I encourage anyone who has been given the gift of good health to share what they have," the monsignor said. "We'll have a link for the rest of our lives."
And that's why we name Monsignor Mark Seitz of St. Rita Catholic Community "Our Neighbor."
If you know someone we can feature in a future "Our Neighbor" report, contact Cynthia Izaguirre at the e-mail address below.
E-mail cizzy@wfaa.com
