Here’s a story that is sure to tug at your heart strings: An elderly man in Utah is spending his days walking up and down the street searching for a kidney donor for his wife.
Wayne Winters, who is 74-years old, wears a sandwich board advertising his wife’s need for a kidney as well as her blood type and their phone number. He bought a new suit and shoes for his walks, and he pounds the pavement, day in and day out, in search of a potential donor who can help to save his wife’s life.
Winters began his daily walks earlier this month. His wife, Deanne, has stage 5 kidney failure, which means that her kidneys have all but lost their ability to function. She is currently on dialysis.
“It’s really hard today, this is the worst I’ve ever seen her; she don’t look good,” Winters told Fox 13 Salt Lake City.
Winters tries to do his walks during rush hour because the traffic means that cars have to slow down—giving drivers more opportunities to read his sign and consider his plight. While his sandwich board has received plenty of attention, so far he has not yet been able to secure a donor for his dear Deanne. Despite this, the 74-year-old remains hopeful.
“I didn’t know what to do,” he told CNN. “I felt like I needed to do something.”
But Winters doesn’t just focus his efforts on his own family. The back of his sign reads: “1,000 kidneys needed in Utah and Idaho.”
How inspiring—not only is Winters devoting his efforts to his own wife, but he is making sure that everyone who needs a kidney is getting attention and press as a result of his daily walks. In fact, he says that even after he finds a match for Deanne, he will continue to wear his sign and pound the pavement in order to help other people get the donors they desperately need.
If you would like to be considered to be a kidney donor, please visit The National Kidney Foundation.