Franklin County man a kidney away from rebuilding his life from the ground up

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - The search for a kidney is on for a Carrabelle man, filled with hope after turning his life around.

Jeffery Murray doesn’t take a day for granted, enjoying life with his wife and children by his side.

Murray received great news in early October, learning he’d earned a spot on a kidney transplant waiting list.

His wife, Samantha, said it was a long time coming.

“This is amazing, I was so happy for him, because this is what we’ve been working for,” she said. “We’ve been working really hard.”

A live kidney donor could completely transform his life.

“A better life, I can go back to work, I can eat normal things,” Jeffrey said.

But the journey to today has not been easy.

“We’ve been through some really hard stuff,” Samantha said.

For 27-year-old Murray, it started with a kidney failure diagnosis, caused by undetected hypertension as a teenager.

“I kind of went off the deep end, I was depressed,” he said. “I felt like life was coming to an end.”

But he said his wife’s love, and the love from his children, steered him in the right direction.

“I came to a realization that there was a better life, and I needed to give them better if that’s what I was going to do,” he said.

Samantha is his everyday caregiver. For her, it comes with plenty of purpose.

“My children need their father growing up, and I don’t want to see anyone lose that opportunity on something that could be saved,” she said.

And now as they search for a donor, another loved one is watching from above. Jeffery’s late father, James, spent years on dialysis before finally receiving a kidney.

He was immunocompromised and passed away in February after a battle with COVID-19.

“The six years that he did fight to get his transplant and figure it all out, he already paved the way for me,” he said. “As a father, to me that was his last present he could of given me.”

The family has set up a Facebook page and invite anyone to connect with them to begin the process of finding a match.

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