Published by Trustmark on March 25th, 2020

The Trustmark culture is one of going beyond. For colleagues, for clients and for members.

Greta McGuire, Senior Director, Change Management at HealthFitness, a Trustmark company, has always been something of an overachiever. And last year she took this concept of going beyond to a whole new level.

After learning that colleague Paul Widener’s son, Cal, a junior at Belmont University in Nashville was in need of a kidney, McGuire volunteered to see if she was a match. It didn’t matter to McGuire that she had never met Cal and only occasionally worked with his dad. All that mattered was trying to help a family experiencing a health crisis.

“I saw this as an incredible opportunity to do something good for someone in a way that I would describe as a mutual blessing,” McGuire said.

What was Widener’s reaction when McGuire told him she would like to see if she was a match?

“I remember thinking she had to be crazy,” Widener said with a smile.

Cal Widener also had trouble processing this development.

“I thought she must be the nicest person in the world,” Cal Widener said.

The same sentiment applies for Wade Gibbs, his wife Katie, and their two sons.

Wade Gibbs had been waiting for a kidney transplant since 2005. While McGuire’s kidney was a solid match for Cal Widener, it was an even better match for Gibbs. In turn, Gibbs’ wife, Katie, had a kidney that was ideal for Widener.

The only question was if McGuire would be OK with a paired donation? For McGuire, it was an easy answer.

“Why would you say no to something like that,” McGuire said.

Lives Changed
On Nov. 21, McGuire successfully donated a kidney as part of a paired exchange at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Most of the time, in a paired donation, the participants never meet and learn details of each other’s lives.

But this wasn’t like most paired donations.

The day after the surgery, McGuire, Cal Widener and family and Wade and Katie Gibbs met each other in a conference room. Some were in hospital gowns while others were in street clothes. Regardless of what they were wearing, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

Wade Gibbs embraced McGuire and gave her an emotional bear hug.

“He was shaking and so choked up that he could barely talk,” said Ravi Chadha, McGuire’s husband. “He kept mouthing thank you.”

Gibbs recalls feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

“I have such respect for someone who would donate an organ to save someone’s life,” he said.

Recovering for What’s Next
As is often the case, the recovery is easier for the person receiving the kidney.

Wade Gibbs enjoyed a near immediate surge of energy and within 10 days of surgery he was walking three miles and back to work on the family farm.

“It’s pretty extraordinary,” he said. “I feel 15 years younger.”

It was a similar story for Cal Widener.

“It was astonishing how bad I felt then and how I feel now,” he said. “I went from having zero energy to 1,000 percent better. I feel normal again.”

So much so that he has resumed training with the track team. He had one setback that required a hospitalization but still hopes to compete in a meet before the end of the season.

After taking some time to get her strength back, Katie Gibbs is back to her old self and wrote a beautiful email to McGuire about how she was the angel their family was waiting for.

As for McGuire, there have been some challenges. The first part of her recovery went smoothly, but two times she’s had to return to the hospital to have infections treated. Still, she believes the worst of the recovery is behind her and she looks at it as a short-term and, ultimately, irrelevant blip.

Since McGuire was not donating to a family member, she has to meet with a social worker before and after the surgery. The day after surgery, the social worker asked her if she had any regrets.

“I said that without a doubt it’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said.

You’re a Good Woman, Greta McGuire
Prominently placed on McGuire’s desk is a quote from a Charlie Brown comic strip – “In life, it’s not where you go, it’s who you travel with.”

“It’s such a beautiful sentiment,” she said.

McGuire said her Trustmark colleagues were with her every step of the way – and beyond. Examples include several gifts, notes and too many hugs to count. This month, National Kidney Month, the Trustmark Foundation will donate $5,000 to the Tennessee Kidney Foundation in recognition of McGuire.

“I have never worked for an organization comprised of so many people to whom I feel such a deep and abiding connection,” McGuire said. “The support and kindness was off the charts.”