WILLINGTON, Conn. — A FOX61 follow up to a story we first brought you back in February. A Willington mother going to great lengths to find a kidney for her son.
You may remember seeing the billboard, it was on major highways throughout the state of Connecticut. A picture of Mary and Austin Kozicki. Mary searching to find the match for her 24-year-old son Austin in need of a kidney.
That billboard was seen by thousands of drivers, and one day it was seen by just the right person.
“I just so happen to be driving to work one day, and I just caught this billboard and it was a woman pleading for someone to give a kidney to her son,” said Rick Dwyer.
Dwyer says he’d never before considered organ donation, but something about this billboard struck him. It stayed with him for weeks before he decided to do a little more research.
“About six weeks later after I saw it initially, I said instead of going to coffee break I’m gonna Google that Austin fella and see how he made out. I got a phone number and said is he still on in need of a transplant list and the answer was yes. At that point I didn’t ever think about becoming a donor, I was asked point blank are you interested in applying to see if you can be a donor and I just said yes I guess I am,” said Dwyer.
Well come to find out Rick was the perfect match, a mother's prayers for her son answered.
“ To try and find the words on the other side of that to say thank you to someone who heard that message and who responded to that message, someone who doesn’t know me, doesn’t know my son, doesn’t know what he’s been through. To try and find a way to say thank you for that I don’t have the words for that,” said Mary Kozicki.
The surgery happened just over a week ago both Austin and Rick doing well.
“ Rick has given Austin life, he has given him hope, he has given him dreams, he has given him a tomorrow, he has given him a lifetime of tomorrows and there aren’t words for that,” said Kozicki.
While this story has a happy ending, there are still hundreds of more people here in the state of Connecticut who are waiting on kidneys, both Rick and Mary encouraging everyone to consider giving the gift of life.