Firefighter donates kidney to husband, a fellow firefighter, after shocking diagnosis

PHOENIX (AZFamily/Gray News) - An Arizona firefighter donated one of her kidneys to her husband, also a firefighter, after he was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease and entered stage 5 kidney failure.

Maddy Geer, a 29-year-old Phoenix firefighter, and Junior Coleman, a 31-year-old Surprise firefighter, are recovering at home after undergoing surgery last Thursday.

Less than a year after saying I do, the husband and wife have been tested on the “in sickness and in health” part of their vows.

“When you’re 30 years old, we’re healthy, we’re fit, we work out all the time. You never expect something like this to happen,” Geer said.

Diagnosis came as a shock

After Coleman was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease last April, his wife immediately volunteered to be tested as a potential donor.

“Ever since he got diagnosed with it, I was like‚ ’If I’m a match, it’s meant to be because I’m going to give you my kidney,’” Geer said.

The couple were a perfect match.

Coleman said fatigue and blurry vision were the first signs that something was wrong. He had been in stage 5 kidney failure with uncontrolled blood pressure and required dialysis three times a week for three months before the transplant.

“What really threw us for a loop, though, is the fire department does very thorough physicals, and nothing was caught with my blood pressure,” Coleman said. “Blood pressure was good when I was going into my doctor’s meetings, but at night, my blood pressure was just going out of control. So, that’s what the scary part is.”

Surgery and recovery

Coleman said he felt better immediately following the transplant.

“I felt alive again,” he said. “She gave me a chance at a second life.”

Geer said the outcome makes the physical pain she now feels worthwhile.

“Knowing that I’m going to make him feel better — it’s just like that outweighed all the pain,” Geer said.

Back to work ahead

Both firefighters said they are looking forward to returning to full duty — and saving more lives — once they have recovered.

“That’s our job. We love doing that for people. So, doing that for somebody that means the world to you, it’s the best feeling in the world,“ Geer said.

Coleman said the experience changed his perspective.

“No one’s invincible. I portrayed myself as being invincible, and that quickly crumbled,” he said. “I’m so grateful for my wife. Makes me realize I’ve married the right person.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover the couple’s medical expenses.