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06/13/2017 04:30 PMDeneisha Coles, the East Haven resident profiled in our May 22 Person of the Week feature who planned to donate a kidney to her younger brother, said the transplant was successful and both are now out of the hospital continuing to recover.
Coles said she’s feeling good both mentally and physically, but although she’s sleeping a lot, she said she tries to do a lot of walking and get fresh air whenever she can.
Her brother, Jaquis Hornesburger, is “way more energetic” now than he was, said Coles. A video of the two walking around the hospital after the surgery was posted on Facebook, and currently has more than 30,000 views.
“I now look at my brother as being my kidney twin,” Coles said.
The two attended a Kidney Walk sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation in Hamden on June 4. They were interviewed by the foundation to share their story, and created their own T-shirts, which they wore at the event.
The shirts said, “II Lefts Made It Right” on the front, referencing that Coles’s kidney was taken from her left side and put into her brother’s left side, and he now has a functional kidney. Coles said she wants to get a team together for the walk next year.
Coles wanted to thank her mother, Debra McCrea, for being strong during the process. She also said many friends and family came to visit to show their support, and that many people reached out to her that were going through the same situation.
Coles is not only glad that she gave her brother a kidney, but is also glad knowing someone else can have her brother’s spot on the transplant list.
“There’s nothing in this world that I wouldn’t do for him,” Coles said.