A 73-year-old New Jersey man, William Sumiel Jr., received a kidney donation from his Uber driver, 33-year-old Tim Letts.
In 2021, Sumiel was catching an Uber ride from his dialysis appointment in Vineland to his home in Salem, according to Fox 4 News. After Letts picked him up, the two quickly struck up a conversation.
“On the car ride I tell him of my dilemma,” says Sumiel. “About halfway home after talking the whole way and slowly becoming friends, Tim tells me that ‘I think God must have put you in my car.“
Sumiel told his driver how he has been placed on the kidney transplant list after being diagnosed with type II diabetes about 30 years ago.
Letts then offered Sumiel his kidney, according to Fox 4 News.
“He says, ‘If you’ll take my name and number, I’ll give a kidney to you,” Sumiel recalls. “I was shaking so hard I couldn’t even write down his name and number.”
After testing, they found that miraculously Letts’ kidney was a perfect match. The operation ended up taking place at Christiana Hospital in December 2021 and everything turned out to be successful.
Sumiel continued, “Giving a kidney is the gift of life and I feel so fortunate to have that gift. I can almost live my life back to normal, and this work (at the University of Delaware’s Exercise clinic for renal rehab) is getting me closer to that every day.”
“I know miracles have happened in the past. Maybe they never happened to me, maybe they have. But now I really have those beliefs reinforced.”
Strangers To The Rescue. Source: ABC 6
Letts is an Army Veteran currently living in Germany. He said he plans on keeping in touch with Sumiel through Facebook.
“I was inspired by how genuine this man was,” Letts told Town Square Delaware. “He was happy. He was kind and you could tell he was suffering, but he didn’t let that fact protrude.”
Sumiel continues his rehab twice a week and just passed the one-year anniversary of his kidney replacement surgery.
This is such a beautiful story! We are so happy that Tim and William crossed paths! We wish them both the best!
