The story of
Reid Alexander
and
Rafael Díaz
deserves to be remembered on every Valentine's Day.
They both met through Tinder, when the former was going through a difficult time with his health and did not imagine that in the middle of a pandemic and through a dating app he would find love... and his salvation.
Reid and Rafael, both Americans, began chatting on Tinder in August 2020. Since that day they have not grown apart, neither virtually nor physically.
They were “impressed” with each other.
"We really hit it off. And we were together every day since then. I felt like we'd known each other for a long time. And we still feel that way," Reid told People in 2021.
The greatest gesture of love
Alexander, who was 23 years old at the time, soon revealed his illness to Díaz.
Sooner or later his family would find out that he wore hearing aids and could not eat things with salt because he suffered from the rare
Alport syndrome
.
This disorder is an inherited form of inflammation of the kidney (nephritis) caused by a defect (mutation) in a gene for a protein in connective tissue, called collagen.
It can cause blood vessel damage, hearing loss, eye problems, kidney disease, and kidney failure.
Reid (L) and Rafael (R) fell in love after moving to Denver.
Photo: YT
Knowing that Reid was about to start a dialysis process and was looking for a donor, Díaz offered him support and was very interested in his illness, since he did not know anyone who suffered from it.
For him it was never an impediment that hindered her budding relationship.
In fact,
Rafael did not take long to find out if he could be the one to give him his kidney
.
"I was like, 'No, you don't have to do that.' But he was very determined," Alexander said of Rafael's attitude.
His partner was very sure that he could do it because at that time he was already registered as an organ donor and all that remained was to know if they were compatible.
"I just said, 'I want to do it. You're someone that I love, that I love, so I can do it for you,'" Díaz said of his decision.
Rafael (L) and Reid (R).
They both met on Tinder.
Photo: YT
Alexander's health problems
Reid, a native of Kokomo, Indiana, learned he had Alport syndrome when he was 17 years old.
After college, doctors told him that his kidneys were functioning at 20% and that he would have to do dialysis while waiting for a transplant.
It was in that interim when she met Rafael.
After the diagnosis, Reid moved with his parents to Denver, where a few days after the move he opened Tinder and met who would become the most influential man in his life.
The operation
The couple did compatibility tests in April 2021 and received the green light in June.
The date for the transplant: August 13.
During the transplant, Reid was 24 years old and Rafael was 28. Photo: People
That day,
Rafael finally donated his kidney to Reid
at Indiana University Health hospital.
Since then, the second's quality of life has improved significantly.
At first "I felt a lot of pain," Díaz explained about his operation, but he clarified: "If I had to do it again, I would do it."
For his part, Reid was all about gratitude: "From the first day I woke up in the hospital after surgery and every day after, every time we saw each other, I just cried. It means a lot to me."
Commitment
Reid and Rafael got engaged
in the middle of the compatibility testing period.
Their initial idea was to have a large wedding, with many guests, but faced with the possibility of a transplant, they used the funds they had saved for the party to donate the kidney.
Díaz cannot believe that he met the “love of his life” on the other side of the country and that he would donate a kidney to him.
The couple got engaged before the operation.
Photo: People
"I don't think I can do anything to show my gratitude. It means a lot because to me, he made the ultimate sacrifice. He gave me an organ so I can live a better life, be healthy. And that's just incredible," Reid added.
In conclusion, the couple tried to raise awareness about organ donation.
Diaz said, "You never know who might need you for that or where you can help. You can help families. You can help people. You can help change someone else's life and give someone the opportunity they didn't have before. Yes "You can do it, do it."