This story has been republished with permission from The Birmingham Times
As a firefighter for the city of Birmingham and now chief of the City of Birmingham Fire & Rescue Service (BFRS), Cory D. Moon is used to saving lives. But one life he has saved is special to his family — his brother Rodney, he said.
The selfless act took place not during a neighborhood call, but at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Hospital, where Cory donated a kidney to his older brother 22 years ago.
“My brother has been diagnosed with kidney disease [while he was attending the University of Alabama]and his condition got worse over the years,” Cory, 45, told The Birmingham Times. “He was about to start dialysis just before we found out we were a match.”
“Dialysis is a form of treatment that… [removes] extra moisture and waste products from [a person’s] “The blood is purified when the kidneys cannot,” according to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF).
“[Because we] did the transplant, … [Rodney] “I never had to go on dialysis,” Cory said.
The Transplant Games of America, held this week in The Magic City, are the 33rd annual celebration of recipients and living donors like Rodney and Cory, as well as donor families, individuals on transplant waiting lists, caregivers and transplant professionals.
“It’s a big deal for the city of Birmingham to have these games at all, and it’s an even bigger deal to have this many donors and this many recipients in one place at one time,” Cory said. “I get to see some of my fellow brothers and sisters that come to the city of Birmingham.”
“Adult-Male-Fashion”
Rodney, 48, called his younger brother’s decision to donate a kidney a “grown-man move.”
“When you’re a big brother, you always see your little brother as the little brother,” Rodney told The Times. “I developed a certain respect for him as a grown man. That helped me get closer to him as a man, as a brother, not just as a little brother who was always following us around and wanting to be one of the big boys. It’s hard for me to put it into words.”
When it came to donating an organ for his biological brother, “there was no hesitation whatsoever,” Cory said.
“I had just become a firefighter a year before the kidney transplant, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to continue being a firefighter or if I was going to be able to continue working,” he recalls. “It didn’t matter to me at all. The only thing that mattered to me was whether my brother was going to be OK. I never thought about it.”
It didn’t have to be his brother to be a donor, Cory added: “The gift of giving someone life is priceless. There are no downsides to saving a life. … Think about the outcome and how you can save someone’s life by simply donating that organ.”
Rodney and his mother wondered what it would mean for Cory to become a donor, as the younger sibling was just starting his career with the BFRS.
“I remember my mother and I thinking about how [Cory] “Would they be able to affect him?” Rodney said. “Would they be disabling him from being able to rappel, [lower your own mass down a rope]Carrying bodies and doing all the physical things that firefighters normally do? That was the part he loved.
“We got the answer that he would not be affected. He would do his full duty with the fire department. Before we even got the answer, he was already fully committed. … He gave me an even higher level of respect for him, besides the fact that he was the little brother.”
Achieve goals
The Moon brothers grew up in Birmingham’s West End, in the Central Park area, and came of age in the 1980s.
“There was no cable TV, Mom wouldn’t let you out when it was extremely hot until the sun went down, and you couldn’t go in and out to air the air,” Rodney recalled. “I remember we had a house across the street and there was an emergency and the fire department came. … We heard the fire sirens and saw the trucks pull up in front of the house. … We looked out the window and [Cory] said to me, ‘I’m going to be a firefighter someday.’ He never chose another profession. He never deviated from those words.”
“He completely embraced the idea of being a firefighter at a young age. … I’m just impressed that he was so focused on what he said he wanted to do at such a young age,” Rodney said.
Cory remembers that day well, too. “That fire happened when I was 10, but I knew I wanted to be a firefighter when I was 5,” he said. “The firefighters actually took the time to talk to me after they put it out, … and that intrigued me as a young boy. As I got older, that desire only grew. The first job I had was at the Food Fair [supermarket] around the corner from my house in Five Points [area]; it’s now the Birmingham Public Library. It was right across from a fire station, so I saw those guys walking in and out when I was 15 and that made [my] wish [to become a firefighter] become even stronger.”
“I was lucky to have good mentors, [too]. … I stayed focused on who and what I wanted to be, and I was able to achieve my goals,” added Cory, who joined the BFRS in March 2001. He was appointed chief by Mayor Randall Woodfin in October 2019 and sworn in in February 2020.
“Something’s not right”
Rodney remembers being diagnosed with kidney disease in 1995. “I was [attending University of Alabama]and I started experiencing symptoms of kidney failure,” he said. “I started having swelling in my legs, and that was an indicator for my mother, who had always worked in the medical field. … She looked at my legs and said, ‘You’re retaining fluid. Something’s not right.’”
The doctors gave Rodney a 24-hour urine test. This is a way to determine how well the kidneys are functioning. It measures how well they remove proteins, hormones and other chemicals from the blood, such as creatinine. Too much creatinine can be a sign of a possible kidney problem.
After receiving the results of the 24-hour urine test, Rodney was referred to a nephrologist, a doctor who specializes in treating kidney disorders, who diagnosed him with focal sclerosis. The “focal” part, he said, meant “it was localized to my kidneys and wouldn’t spread.”
“My nephrologist was at Princeton Hospital and they were able to slow my kidney failure for about five years,” Rodney said. “I was able to graduate [from Alabama in 1997]promise [Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Incorporated]Beta Eta Chapter], and do a lot of other things. I was normal.”
That was until 2001 or 2002, “when I started failing terribly,” he said.
“Even closer as a family”
His younger brother enters. “First of all, I had to stay in the hospital for a day or two to determine if we were a match,” Cory recalls.
Compatibility is determined by looking at blood type, tissue type and cross-matching. The Moon brothers were a match, “and we did the surgery [on May 1, 2002]”, said Cory.
“We both went [into the hospital] same day,” he added. “I don’t remember how long the surgery was, but I remember waking up and them rolling me into his room, because the first thing I asked was, ‘How’s my brother?’ They rolled my bed into his room so I could see him.”
Cory said he couldn’t put into words how much it meant to him to donate an organ to his brother.
“It was just him and I, so we’ve always been close,” Cory said. “The fact that we share this special birthday has made our bond even closer than it already was. It’s hard to put into words how close it’s made us, because we come from a close family. Of course I love my brother, but it’s definitely made us even closer as a family.”
After the surgery, Rodney was back on his feet and walking the next day, he said. “I call [Cory’s] kidney ‘bionic,'” Rodney added. “He never really put anything in his body that was going to hurt him in the long run: no steroids, no alcohol, no drug abuse. He was in perfect condition, and the fire department worked them over and got them into shape. … [My brother] was in the best condition of his life, and I am the benefactor of that health.”
“My hero”
Every year on May 1, the Moon brothers commemorate transplant day. “We usually reach out to each other, send a reminder and say ‘Congratulations’ and ‘Happy Birthday,’ so it’s subtle,” Cory said. “We remember and commemorate that day because it’s such a special time for us.
“I wouldn’t be who I am if it wasn’t for my big brother,” he continued. “My brother is my idol. I wanted to go to college because my brother went to college. I wanted to play sports because my brother played sports. I wanted to get good grades because my brother got good grades. … That’s why kidney donation was never a thought for me.”
Rodney has built a successful career as a senior program manager at technology giant Amazon, as a real estate agent and property manager, and as the owner, along with his wife Karmen, of a recently opened Bruster’s Real Ice Cream franchise in Trussville, Alabama.
“I owe a lot of that energy to Cory, because… I [don’t think I would have been able] to do all this through dialysis,” Rodney said. “I [might not have been] able to do something that I’ve been able to do. I’ve had multiple jobs, … and it takes energy to do that.”
Rodney even said that the kidney works better than the rest of his body. “Every day I thank God that the kidney works,” he said. “It works better than a lot of my original body parts. … I thank God for [Cory] “Being my hero.”
Birmingham will host the Transplant Games 2024 from 5 to 10 Julywhere thousands of people come together to honor those who have given the gift of life and to raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation. For more information about the Transplant Games of America, visit transplantgamesofamerica.org.