Joe Turner, a DoorDash driver and father of three from Cahokia Heights, Illinois, has a favorite T-shirt that reads: “Kind people are my kind of people.”
A Missouri Man in Desperate Need of a Kidney
In 2025, it’s not the kind of motto you often see. For Tim Heatherly, 32, from Missouri, not far from Turner’s home, it may have saved his life. You see, Heatherly was suffering from chronic kidney disease and needed a lifesaving kidney transplant.
A Facebook Post That Changed Two Lives
Rewind months ago to when Turner, like many of us, was scrolling through social media and noticed a plea from Heatherly’s mother on Facebook asking for a kidney donor. Turner, who didn’t know Heatherly or his mother, decided then and there to spring into action.
Turner claims his faith guided him to help, calling it a chance to give someone a “second chance, like Jesus gave me.”
The Surgery That Created a Lifelong Friendship
Despite multiple friends offering Heatherly a kidney, none were approved as a match, but Turner was. The two met for the first time, and the transplant surgery took place just last month and was a success.
From Strangers to Friends: A Story of Kindness and Faith in Illinois
Heatherly says he now feels healthy and grateful, describing Turner’s kind act as “something huge for a stranger.” He also mentions that Turner checks in with him daily, and they have become close friends…