Kristi Nelson — an anchor at KXAS, the NBC owned-and-operated station in Dallas — will undergo transplant surgery tomorrow in order to donate a kidney to her 69-year-old mother.
Nelson’s mother Helen currently has two failing kidneys, according to the KXAS website. By sharing their story (watch the video, above) the Nelson women hope to raise awareness of kidney disease and organ donation. Helen Nelson is one of more than 8,000 people in Texas who need a kidney transplant. “I woke up one morning and thought, ‘What am I worrying about? This could make her life so much better. It will improve her life. What else is there?'” Kristi Nelson said.
Helen Nelson, who has been having dialysis treatments for her failing kidneys three days a week for more than a year, learned recently that having a kidney transplant was her best option. Kristi — who is the youngest of her four children — was a match.
“She made this kidney,” Kristi Nelson said. “She actually created it, and she gave me life, and you know, it’s the least I could do to have her have an improved life.”
Both Kristi’s Facebook and Twitter pages — which she has been updating frequently about her ordeal — are flooded with well-wishes.