Anthony Pilot and Jessica Meyer hope their intertwined pasts – and their passion for helping those in need – will help inspire others to show more kindness.
Pilot, a community pastor, math instructor, and academic coordinator at Gulf Coast State College, found his calling as a mentor and a math teacher at Jinks Middle School in Panama City, Fla., after leaving the private sector in 2001. With a background in sports and a heart for mentoring young men, Pilot was offered a chance to be an assistant coach at Jinks by then-head football coach Don Vandergrift – Meyer’s father-in-law – soon after being hired.
In May 2017, Meyer was hired as an educational resource advisor within the same department as Pilot. After quickly connecting the dots, Pilot told her that her father-in-law was the reason he was in education.
“He was the best mentor I could’ve asked for,” Pilot says. “He gave me a chance when I had no experience whatsoever.”
As they worked together, Vandergrift learned that Pilot was extremely ill. He had struggled with diabetes for more than 20 years, and Pilot had been diagnosed nearly five years before with kidney failure. He was on dialysis, and he had been on the waiting list for a kidney for more than three years.
“I didn’t have an education about kidney disease,” he says. “Psychologically, it was tough. Dialysis scared me because of my friends’ experiences. I didn’t really know what it meant. I just saw the end results. One of my parishioners at church ended up dying while on dialysis.
That shook me and made me realize I was very limited on my time, and I needed to make adjustments in my life.”
SACRIFICING FOR OTHERS
In the past, other people were tested but were not a match for Pilot. As a father of four daughters, Pilot says at times he was in denial that he was reaching end-stage kidney failure.
“I didn’t want anyone to have to sacrifice for me,” he says. “I just wanted to wait on a cadaver kidney.”
Meyer decided to do something about that. Her journey led her to
UAB Medicine . Because of previous testing, Pilot was already on the list at UAB.
“I started asking questions and was eventually able to find the website that said I would need to discreetly fill out a questionnaire that would determine whether or not I was a candidate for testing,” Meyer says.
Within a few days, Meyer received a phone call from the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute saying that she was approved to be tested. In January 2018, she made the trip to Birmingham to undergo all the necessary tests and later was told that she was a perfect match for Pilot.
When she delivered the good news to Pilot, he was in awe. “I called my wife and we started crying,” he says. “Just the simple fact that she was willing to go to UAB was overwhelming.”
HUMILITY
Meyer says she does not like a lot of attention. She is a fairly private person and did not tell many people she was going through the screening process to become a potential kidney donor for Pilot.
“However, the response that I received from the few people who did know made me a little sad,” she says. “While I obviously agree that the act of organ donation is a huge decision, and I will always greatly appreciate the sincere acknowledgment of that, I just feel like people helping people should be much more normalized within our society.”
Her husband, Josh Vandergrift, only reiterates that point. He explains that he was not the least bit surprised when she told him she was interested to know if she would be a match.
“Jessica wakes up every day with a relentless desire to make a positive difference in the world,” Vandergrift says. “It’s just how she lives her life. She is intentionally thoughtful and kind with no need for recognition.”
Pilot agrees. “She said we need to do this,” he recalls. “Her whole mindset is, ‘Why are we making a big deal about this? Aren’t we supposed to do this for people?’ She understands the magnitude of what is happening. People are supposed to help each other.”
WEATHERING THE STORM
After starting the process in November 2017, the surgery was finally scheduled for June 18, 2018. Pilot and Meyer were admitted to UAB Hospital the day before the surgery, but unfortunately, Pilot was too ill for the surgeons to feel confident in proceeding. Meyer was discharged that night, while Pilot was required to stay for a few weeks.
Pilot eventually was cleared to proceed with the surgery a few months later, in fall 2018. However, Mother Nature had other ideas. On Oct .10, 2018, Hurricane Michael – a devastating Category 5 storm – wrecked the Florida Panhandle when it made landfall. It was a direct hit on the place that Meyer and Pilot call home. The storm caused catastrophic damage, and almost nothing was left untouched. The majority of homes were severely damaged, and schools, churches, restaurants, businesses, and everything else within their community were turned into huge piles of debris.
“Just imagine that for a moment – no power, water, cell service, radio signal, no means to travel away from where you are. And the worst part was a period of time when 911 did not work,” Meyer says. “If you’ve never been through a natural disaster of that magnitude, it’s hard to comprehend how much it truly impacts everyday life.”
A RAY OF HOPE
Due to the destruction, Pilot’s lifesaving surgery had to be postponed again so that both families could focus on picking up the pieces and putting their lives back together . But finally, just as the sun eventually peeks from the clouds after a storm, a ray of hope appeared for Pilot on June 6, 2019.
After having her kidney removed by UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute Director Jayme Locke, MD, Meyer’s kidney finally found its new home with Pilot. Now, Pilot is doing well and back home to Panama City. “I had no idea how bad I felt all those years until now,” he says. “I feel like I’m 25 years old. I’ve gained 10 pounds and have so much more energy.”
It is Meyer’s passion for kindness that Pilot admires so much, and what connected them before – her father-in-law and work relationship – pale in comparison to what connects them now.
“She’s a friend of mine,” Pilot says. “I look at her like a real sister. I am so blessed and honored to know her.”
Source: UAB News