My Special Niece

Friday was my wonderful niece's birthday. I have one sister, and out of her four children, she had one daughter. This little girl, not little now, was born on July 29. It has been my pleasure to be a part of her life. Let me tell you a little about Judy Galloway Meek.

Judy has not had an easy life. She was diagnosed with a kidney disease in her teens. Her kidneys would eventually deteriorate and she would be faced with a transplant. My sister and her husband moved from West Virginia to Columbia, Tennessee and found a wonderful doctor at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Judy kept the same doctor as she grew up.

Judy married a great man, Charlie Meek, and they began their life together. Judy was told not to conceive by her doctor. She would be endangering her life and her babies. It was a disappointment to her because she wanted to have her own children. Instead they adopted a baby boy, Joseph. He is like our own and graduated from high school this past spring.

Through the years, her kidneys did stop functioning and she was on dialysis and waited for a transplant. She had a match with her brother in Scotland, the only thing wrong was his high blood pressure. He walked many hills, lost weight, and ate the right food, but his blood pressure would not go down enough. We were all devastated. She needed a kidney.

A lady from church told her she had been tested as a donor for a bone marrow transplant, and thought she would be approved as a kidney donor, if they matched. She was a perfect match! The transplant was under way. This woman is a true Christian.

Today Judy is a healthy woman. Her dedication to God during all this has been something we could all learn from. She never turned her back on Him, even in her worse moments. It's hard to face disappointments, but Judy and Charlie helped each other, with God's help. They leaned on the Lord.

At times we forget about God when things are good. We only go to Him when we have bad times. This was a rough time for our family, but we all leaned on the Lord. What else could we do? Right now Judy is an inspiration for so many. She doesn't realize what she does, but she encourages me, in particular, to be more dedicated to God. This is my way of honoring my friend, my niece, and my encouragement. Love you, Judy.

Look at her blog, A Meek Prospective. It's on the top of my right sidebar.