21-month-old Clara was born with only one kidney, but it was unable to function properly due to cysts, according to ABC News.
When Clara’s parents discovered that they weren’t a match for a kidney transplant for their young daughter, the little girl’s grandmother, Cindy Smith, stepped in to save her granddaughter’s life.
The 54-year-old grandmother stated that she felt “blessed” that she was able to be a kidney donor for her granddaughter.
“I called my daughter and said, ‘I have my 12th man jersey on and I’m ready to go in,” state Smith.
Boddie and her husband reportedly had to put Clara through dialysis every night until she was old enough for the kidney transplant surgery, according to the publication 7 Online.
“My mom said, ‘I want to do it,’” stated Kate Boddie, Clara’s mom.
“[I said] ‘You’re crazy, grandma.’ She said, ‘No, really I want to do it.”
The surgery reportedly lasted eight hours and was a success.
“To see Clara and know [she’d have] no more dialysis — I thought the birth of my children would be that moment. This rivals it, to see that baby well,” stated Smith.
Clara “bounced back” almost immediately two months after the operation, according to Boddie. She is now reportedly eating solid food.
“I’m not going to lie: I cried,” explained Boddie.
“You can tell she feels better, Before the surgery, she was very low-key. I think a lot of the time she didn’t have the energy to have a fight for things. Now she’s feisty.”
Smith is reportedly doing well after the surgery.
“This is our first grandbaby,” stated Smith.
“Nowadays, things go so smoothly with science, and it just was not the case with Clara. We knew she was a fighter.”
