South Hadley woman gets gift of life

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (WWLP) - A South Hadley woman with serious kidney disease gets a second chance at a kidney transplant.

Forty-year-old Julie Gentile's been undergoing four-hour dialysis treatments in West Springfield three days a week since August. Before that, she had been on all-night 10-hour dialysis treatments at home.

Julie was scheduled to receive a kidney from her childhood friend Kurt Wiesel in December. However after going under the knife doctors found his kidney had a cancerous growth. His life was saved because of the surgery but Julie's had to be put on hold.

"When he fell through, it was one of those situations where I looked at my husband and said we need to finish, we need to finish what we started," said Nicole Skelly, kidney donor and friend of Julie's.

"We knew she was a match a year ago with the time constraints the timing wasn't right," said Julie Gentile, kidney recipient.

Another of Julie's friends, Nicole Skelly, was recovering from a C-section when Kurt stepped forward. Now she says she wants to help Julie and her son Anthony. "I see her with Anthony and the type of mom she is with him and I had lost my mom at a young age and I can't see Anthony go through that," said Skelly.

But the recovery for the donor is more difficult than it is for the recipient.

"Mine's a lot more difficult than hers. I'll be out of the hospital before her but then I'm looking at 4-6 weeks recovery time," explained Skelly.

Both say they're prepared for the big day.

"Everything's scheduled Wednesday and we have good luck and well wishes, and we met with the surgeons and the transplant people yesterday...we're ready," said Gentile.

Click here for more information on kidney donations and how to be a living kidney donor.