Cosby’s silver linings came in the form of a safe place to live following the tornado and family friend, Megan Neer.
Neer — a Clark County resident and John’s perfect match — will donate a kidney to him Tuesday in a transplant procedure to take place at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus.
“Not everyone has the luxury of having a family member, sibling or identical twin who is a match,” said Dr. Uday Nori, transplant nephrologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Comprehensive Transplant Center. “There is a national database for recipients who require a donor.”
But in Clark County, lightning struck twice in 2024. On April 1, the first day of National Donate Life Month, Clark County resident Jennifer Tuttle donated a kidney to longtime friend Julie Nourse. Nourse also resides in Springfield.
“We were praying for Julie, and we were praying for the potential kidney donor at church,” Tuttle said in an interview with the Springfield News-Sun. “I truly felt God speaking to me and telling me ‘You are the donor. You are the match.’ It was an overwhelming feeling.”
Neer said her experience was similar.
“I feel like the Lord has placed some major things on my heart,” said Neer, who has also been a foster parent. “When you have that prick on your heart to do something and you lean into that, even though it’s hard and even though it’s scary, it ends up being such a blessing to your life. It’s so unbelievable.”
Cosby was just one month old when he was diagnosed with stage 5 bi-lateral kidney dysplasia. At the end of 2023, the Cosby family learned that John would need a transplant, and the search for a matching donor began.
Nori said there are about 100,000 people on the waiting list for a kidney, and 65-70 percent are minors. When the FDA approved two new anti-rejection medications in the 1990s, the pool of living transplant candidates expanded.
“With new medications, there is no need to hold back because rejection is so low,” Nori said. “(For) anyone who has kidney disease, the best treatment is transplant. Dialysis gives 8-9 percent (kidney) function. A transplant allows for 50 percent function.”
Neer knew her blood type was a match to John’s and started the process to become an approved potential donor.
“The process felt long, but went pretty quickly,” Neer said. “I began the process in May and found out July 3 that I was a match.”
Neer said there was a lot of required preliminary testing and blood work as well as appointments with counselors and social workers.
“It’s a very thorough process,” she said.
Neer said her family has been supportive and is looking forward to helping out after the transplant procedure.
“I really hope we have a successful transplant,” Neer said. “I want John to feel so normal that he doesn’t even realize that I gave him a kidney. I want him to thrive and be able to play sports or do extracurriculars are much as possible. I want him to have a normal childhood. He has really not had that to this point.”
Neer said she knows this won’t be John’s last kidney transplant, but it would be amazing if her kidney would even last him 10 years and allow him to be healthy.
“He’s so precious,” she said. “He’s such a trooper.”
Neer’s surgeon from OSU Wexner Medical Center will perform her operation at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. This allows for the kidney to be immediately transplanted into John.
“They will be in side-by-side operating rooms,” said John’s mother Jennifer Cosby. “She is the nicest, kindest, most genuine, gracious person. You meet her and you think, ‘she can’t be real.’ I thought all of that before she said she’d donate a kidney to my kid.”
Cosby said she and Neer were on “pins and needles” waiting to hear if a match had been confirmed.
“The hope all along since diagnosis was for a pre-emptive transplant,” Cosby said. “Meaning it’s planned, or you get a deceased donor … before he would require dialysis. We did really good, we were really close.”
John had a dialysis catheter placed on Aug. 17 and began treatment that day. Dialysis was needed daily at first, but eventually went to three days a week.
“His disposition is the same,” Cosby said. “He is happy. He has energy. He is a typical pre-toddler.”
Cosby said John is also good-natured and cooperative with his medical team.
“He knows what’s happening,” Cosby said. “He knows it’s not going to hurt him.”
During his many hours of dialysis, the Cosbys spend time keeping John entertained with books, games and music therapy.
“John loves Taylor Swift,” said Cosby. “His music therapist is a big Swifty.”
Following John’s transplant, Cosby hopes her son can live a normal healthy life for many years. He will require immunosuppressant medications for the rest of his life and will also need additional kidney transplants to extend his life.
“Due to his age, he will need additional transplants,” Cosby said. “He will be closely followed with medications and blood tests to make sure the kidney is still functioning and not showing signs of rejection.”
Cosby said the hope would again be a pre-emptive transplant.
“My prayer would to be to have someone again come out of the woodwork and be able to donate a kidney to him,” she said.
Nori said the need for living donors has always been there.
“2005 was best year for living donation — the most people ever came forward to donate,” he said. “Since then, we have seen nothing but decline.”
Nori said transplant education in the community is vital. The annual cost to maintain life on dialysis is $80,000.
“Kidney transplants have proven to be safe for more than 70 years,” Nori said. “The success of kidney transplantation as it stands today is phenomenal.”
Nori said the first successful organ transplant was a kidney transplant in 1954. The donor lived to be in his eighties.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about donating kidneys, The best place to get information is the Transplant Institution,” said Nori. “We try to allay the fears of living donor candidates. This subject never gets old. Every time I see someone donating … it makes my heart swell up.”
Cosby said she would never be able to properly thank Neer for the gift of life she is giving her son.
“I’m so grateful I get the opportunity to tell her thank you for the rest of our lives,” Cosby said. “For so many kidney recipients what is their best day — their lifesaving gift day — it’s the worst day for the donor’s family. For us, it’s the best day and we get to experience that with Megan and her family. It’s such a win-win!”
Cosby and Neer plan to spend time post-transplant educating the community about the need for organ donation.
“It’s a very doable process. (A donor) can totally change someone’s life by giving the gift of life,” Cosby said. “This is something you can see. It’s tangible. You can see first hand what this can do for someone. Our hope is awareness and education. It’s not the easiest thing but it’s also not the hardest and look what good can come from it.”
Anyone interested in learning how to become a potential kidney donor can find more information at: osuwexmedlivingdonor.org
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