This story is reprinted with permission from Birmingham Times
As a long-time Birmingham firefighter and now Chief of the City of Birmingham Fire and 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’s, he said.
The selfless act didn’t come after a call in a city block, it came at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Hospital, where Cory donated a kidney to his older brother 22 years ago.
“My brother was diagnosed with kidney disease [while he was attending the University of Alabama]and his situation got worse over the years,” Cory, 45, told The Birmingham Times. “He was getting ready to start dialysis before we found out we were a match.”
“Dialysis is a type of treatment that… [removes] additional fluids and waste products from [a person’s] blood when the kidneys are not able”, according to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF).
“[Because we] did the transplant,… [Rodney] never had to go on dialysis,” Cory said.
America’s Transplant Games, being held in the Magic City this week, is the 33rd annual celebration of living donors and recipients — like Rodney and Cory — as well as donor families, individuals on transplant waiting lists, caregivers and professionals of the transplant.
“It’s a big deal for the city of Birmingham to even have these games, and it’s even bigger to have so many donors and so many recipients in one place at the same time,” Cory said. “I can see some of my brothers and sisters coming to the city of Birmingham.”
“Adult Movement”
Rodney, 48, called his younger brother’s decision to donate a kidney a “grown-up move”.
“When you’re a big brother, you always look at your little brother as your little brother,” Rodney told The Times. “I’ve gained a level of respect for him as a grown man. It helped me grow closer to him as a man, as a brother, not just a little brother who always followed us around and wanted to be one of the big boys. It’s hard for me to put it into words.”
When it came to donating an organ to his biological brother, there was “zero hesitation,” Cory said.
“I had just become a firefighter a year before the kidney transplant, so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue being a firefighter or continue working,” he recalls. “I didn’t care at all. The only thing that mattered to me was if my brother was okay. I didn’t think twice.”
It didn’t have to be his brother for him to become a donor, Cory added: “The gift of giving someone life is priceless. There is no harm in saving a life. … Think about the outcome and how you can save someone’s life just by donating that organ.”
Rodney and his mother wondered what becoming a donor would mean for Cory. After all, the younger brother was at the beginning of his career in the BFRS.
“I remember me and my mom thinking how [Cory] would it be affected?” Rodney said. “Would they remove him from the ability to rape, [lower your own mass down a rope], carrying bodies and doing all the physical things firefighters usually do? This is the part he loved.
“We got the answer that he would not be affected. He would have full duty at the fire department. Before we got the answer, he was completely committed. … It gave me another level of respect for him, other than him being the little brother.”
Achieving Goals
The Moon brothers grew up in the West End of Birmingham, in the Central Park community, and grew up in the 1980s.
“There was no cable TV, mom wouldn’t let you go out when it was extremely hot until the sun went down, and you weren’t allowed to go in and out of the door to get some air,” Rodney recalls. “I remember we had a house in front of us that had an emergency and the fire engine pulled out. … We heard fire sirens and saw trucks pull up in front of the house. … We were looking out the window and [Cory] said to me: ‘One day I will be a fireman.’ He never chose another profession. He never shied away from these words.”
“He fully embraced the idea of becoming a firefighter at a young age. … I’m just amazed that he was so focused on doing what he said he wanted to do as a young man,” Rodney said.
Kori remembers that day vividly, too. “That fire happened when I was 10, but I knew I wanted to be a firefighter since I was 5,” he said. “The firefighters actually took time to talk to me after they put out the emergency, … and that intrigued me as a little kid. As I grew older, that desire continued to grow. The first job I had was at the Food Fair [supermarket] just around the corner from my house in Five Points [area]; it is now the Birmingham Public Library. It was right across the street from a fire station, so I’d see those guys coming 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 BFRS in March 2001. He was named chief by Chairman Randall Woodfin in October 2019 and sworn in in February 2020.
“Something is wrong”
Rodney recalls being diagnosed with kidney disease in 1995. “I was [attending University of Alabama], and I started experiencing the symptoms of kidney failure,” he said. “I experienced swelling in my legs and this was an indication to my mother, who had always been in the medical field. … She looked at my legs and said, ‘You’re holding fluids. Something is wrong’”
Doctors gave Rodney a 24-hour urine test, which can help determine how well the kidneys are working by measuring how well they clear the blood of proteins, hormones and other chemical compounds, such as excess creatinine, it could 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 specializing in the treatment of kidney disease, who diagnosed him with focal sclerosis. The “focal” part, he said, meant “it was localized to my kidneys and wasn’t going to spread.”
“My nephrologist was at Princeton Hospital and they were able to slow down the kidney failure for about five years,” Rodney said. “I managed to graduate [from Alabama in 1997]hostage [Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Incorporated], Beta Eta Chapter], and do many other things. I was normal.”
That was until 2001 or 2002, “when I started failing badly,” he said.
“Even closer as a family”
Enter his younger brother. “To begin with, I had to stay in the hospital for a day or two just to do the matching part to decide if we were a match,” Cory recalled.
Compatibility is determined by looking at blood type, tissue type and matching. The Moon brothers were a match, “and we did the surgery [on May 1, 2002]”, Cory said.
“We both went [into the hospital] the same day”, he added. “I don’t remember how long the operation took, but I remember waking up and being taken to his room because the first thing I asked was, ‘How is my brother?’ They wheeled my bed into his room so I could see him.”
Cory said he couldn’t put into words how much it meant to donate an organ to his brother.
“It was just me and him, so we’ve always been close,” Cory said. “The fact that we share this special anniversary has made our bond even closer than it already was. It’s hard to put into words how much this has meant to us because we come from a tight-knit family. Of course, I love my brother, but it absolutely made us even closer as a family.”
After the surgery, Rodney “was up and walking the next day,” he said. “I call [Cory’s] the ‘bionic’ kidney,” added Rodney. “He’s never put anything in his body that will hurt him over time: no steroids, no alcohol, no drug abuse. He was in perfect condition and the fire department worked on him and got him into shape. … [My brother] was in the best shape of his life and I am the benefactor of this health.”
“My hero”
Every May 1, the Moon brothers commemorate Transplant Day. “We usually reach out to each other, send a reminder and say ‘Congratulations’ and ‘Happy Anniversary,’ so it’s subtle,” Cory said. “We remember and commemorate that day because it is 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 gone on to a successful business career as a senior program manager with technology giant Amazon, as a real estate broker and property manager, and as the owner with his wife, Karmen, of a recently opened Bruster’s Real Ice franchise Cream 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 on dialysis,” Rodney said. “I [might not have been] able to do any of the things I’ve been able to do. I’ve been doing a lot of work, … and it takes energy to do that.”
In fact, Rodney said his kidney is working better than the rest of his body. “Every day, I thank God that my kidney is working,” he said. “It’s working better than many parts of my original body. … I thank God for [Cory] being my hero.”
From July 5 to 10, Birmingham will host the 2024 Transplant Games, where thousands will gather to honor those who have given the gift of life and raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation. For more information about the Transplant Games of America, visit transplantgamesofamerica.org.