'I took an oath': Cop saw Facebook plea so she helped stranger's kid
A year and a half ago, Kristi Goll posted to Facebook asking strangers to get themselves tested and see if they could donate an organ to her son, who was in desperate need of a kidney.
His name is Jackson Arneson, and he was 8 years old at the time.
Jackson was born with a condition called posterior urethral valves, meaning that his kidneys would slowly lose function until they stopped working altogether.
It was in February 2017 that he was given a grim prognosis – if they couldn't’t find a replacement kidney with O positive blood, then he probably would not see the end of the year.
It's a story of two strangers bonded for life after a kidney transplant. One year ago, a Milton police officer donated her kidney to Jackson Arneson, a 9-year-old boy she had never met. https://t.co/haK3sDVfC7
— KWTX News 10 (@kwtx) 25 June 2018
When all of his family members got tested and found out that none were a match, Kristi took to Facebook to ask for help.
This is where Lindsey Bittorf of the Milton Police Department stepped in.
Lindsay straightaway got checked psychologically and physically to see if she could be a match for Jackson.
According to the Good News Network she said, “if roles were reversed and it were my kid, I would move hell and earth for my kid, too.''
And guess what? She was a match for Jackson!
According to CNN, Lindsey worked with Jackson’s grandparents to set up a time and place to surprise Jackson's parents with the good news.
She showed up at the family's home with two wrapped presents containing framed pictures declaring she was Jackson’s kidney donor.
Kristi burst into tears upon seeing this.
“I took an oath to serve and protect my community and now my kidney will serve and protect you,” Lindsey said.
Lindsey and Jackson had the the four-hour surgery back in June 2017.
As of today, he is alive and well and it's all thanks to a woman who used to be a total stranger.
“I’ve told her so many times,” Kristi told WMTV about Lindsey. “I don’t even know how you thank somebody for doing that for you. You know, I mean as something that’s so priceless.”