When they were crowned homecoming prince and princess 40 years ago at Santa Ana Valley High School, Vitaliano Salera and Rose Valenzuela never dreamed that one day, they'd be bonded for a different reason.
The Southern California residents lost touch after graduation, but reconnected 15 years ago, when Salera married Valenzuela's best friend, Felicia. Recently, Salera was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure due to diabetes and needed a transplant to live. Everyone he knew was tested, and there was just one match: Valenzuela.
She immediately agreed to be a donor, and they both went through surgery a few weeks ago. "To give a kidney to somebody so they can hold their wife's hand a little bit longer or see their granddaughter grow up to be a young woman, that's what she did for me," Salera told NBC Los Angeles. Both are recovering well, and Salera's surgeon said his kidney function is "essentially normal."
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There are about 100,000 people in the United States waiting for kidney donations, and only 21,000 transplants are done every year. "Everybody talks about having a purpose and most people never really reach that, but I think with Rose and myself, through this experience, we found that purpose and not just to help each other out, but hopefully we can inspire other people to help one another," Salera said.
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