TRAVERSE CITY -- It’s an inspirational story of true love, a Traverse City woman is preparing to give her husband of nearly 35 years an anniversary gift of a lifetime, her own kidney.
Dale and Kathy Casto have been happily married for more than 3 decades.
And like most couples, they've celebrated the joys of life like having children and grandchildren, and they've also been through their share of obstacles like losing loved ones and jobs.
But they never thought they'd be faced with the biggest challenge of their lives during their golden years.
Three years ago Dale was diagnosed with stage 4 renal failure and started daily dialysis treatments.
And after nearly 2 and half years of sitting on the donor list, his own wife Kathy decided to give the ultimate gift to the man she loves, her own kidney. On May 14th, the couple’s 35th wedding anniversary, the couple will go into surgery together to do a kidney transplant.
Kathy Casto says, “We've been through a lot and from the beginning it was for better or for worse... We have a lot of years together left and if I can make them better, than that's my job!”
The Casto’s want to use this opportunity to stress the importance of becoming a donor and urge everyone to get educated because it can be such a rewarding experience.
The costs of continued medical services following the Casto's surgeries will be significant. In an effort to help with the bills, there is a special fundraising event being held this Friday, April 27th in front of Tendercare Health and Rehab Center in Traverse City. It starts at 10:00am and lasts until 2:00pm.
To check out the entire story, click on the video above.
