Those of you who know Jaime know what an incredible woman she really is. She is beautiful in every way - body, soul and spirit. She has a wonderful, cheerful spirit and she’s LOTS of fun. She is incredibly generous. And I’m pretty sure that “courage” is her middle name. She has lived and/or visited places all over the world. Her sense of adventure comes pouring out of her. And she has a faith that is deep and encouraging.
I realize I’ve never told the whole story of how this all came about. Jaime and I worked together at Awana. She was in one of my first classes that I taught and was very nice to this scared new teacher of computers at Awana. My first few months there I really wondered what I was doing trying to teach others how to use their computer when I was still learning myself. But then I realized that because I was learning it and then teaching it that it made it less scary for those who came to me for learning. I kept telling them if I could do this then they could too and so many have found that to be true. Jaime came to a class that was really a little below her skills but she patiently listened to me lecture and followed along with the exercises on my screen and asked good, challenging questions (which also scared me! :-) ).
But I knew from that first day that we would be friends and that she was a kindred spirit in many ways. And I also knew that I wanted to know more about what made Jaime Chambers tick.
In the ensuing months we had opportunities to connect at various Awana functions and have some VERY funny stories to tell from those encounters. Also in those same months it became apparent that my kidneys were continuing to go down and that it was likely that dialysis was looming as a choice I had to make. I finally “showed my hand” at Awana and asked for prayer about this struggle in my life.
A week or so later Jaime stopped me in the atrium at Awana HQ and said to me, “I feel that the Lord wants me to be tested to give you a kidney. Ken and I have been praying about it and feel very strongly about it.” So I said “Wow! Thanks!” and gave her a hug thinking about what a nice person she was and what a generous thought she had but never thinking she was really serious about it. But as time went on she kept asking me when we were going to get tested and after asking me that several times I realized she was serious and started doing what I had to do for us to go get our blood tested together.
In the meantime, Ken took a job in California and they packed and moved. Hmmm…a fly in the ointment…a duck getting out of the row…a question about whether this would really happen. But Jaime was not deterred by the distance and she was coming back a few weeks later for a meeting and we decided to go for “blood and breakfast” one of the mornings she would be here.
I learned that the matching is done on six genetic markers. If the donor was an identical twin then all the markers would match. If the donor is a sibling or other close family member then perhaps there would be three or four of the six markers that would match. But most of the time non-family donors don’t match at any of the markers or maybe one if you’re lucky. So when our blood cross typing came back, the folks at Loyola kept asking each of us if we were related…were we sure we weren’t related??? Because we match at 3 of the 6 genetic markers! Wow! Now I knew even more that this was such a clear doing of the Lord.
Jaime and I would giggle about being long lost sisters or twins (LONG gestation period - we’re 7 years apart in age and, yes, she’s the youngster - she’s want me to make that clear!).
But all of this is to show you what a remarkable woman Jaime is. For her to choose to go through major surgery, have a major organ removed from her body so that I can have it, her courage and her generousity and her cheerful spirit and encouraging faith when I was getting so scared - all of these things are a enormous gift to my life. I am eternally grateful for this wonderful woman in my life.
So this is my tribute to Jaime.
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