This is the second in a series of love stories being offered to readers before Valentines Day.
Love often blooms in the unlikeliest of places, and it rarely astonishes us more than when it persists in the face of adversity. Sam and Tracy White’s love story began while working in a retail store in the Pearland area. Fate separated them for a few years when Sam, a native of Liberty County, moved to Houston, concluding their relationship and starting what would be a 7-year intermission.
Little did they know at the time that their love story was far from over. In 2017, and after Tracy had ended another relationship, a mutual friend reached out to Sam to suggest he should contact Tracy again as she had never truly moved on.
“It was one of those situations where she was the one who got away and then came back. I never should have broken up with her in the first place,” said Sam.
Their rekindled romance quickly caught fire and not long after they were married. However, the “in sickness and in health” part of their wedding vows would soon be challenged. In 2011, Sam suffered a heart attack and then lost one leg to diabetes. He had adjusted to the changes in his life, but wasn’t prepared when his kidneys began to fail and he ended up on a kidney transplant waiting list.
“I had been on dialysis for two years. The medication I was prescribed for my diabetes actually damaged my kidneys. After three near-transplants that turned out not to be great matches for me, I was running out of options. Tracy wanted to give me one of her kidneys but she wasn’t a match. That’s when St. Luke’s Hospital suggested something called a kidney swap. They believed it was a good option for us,” Sam said.
Tracy was immediately on board for the kidney swap process even though it meant giving one of her perfectly healthy kidneys to a complete stranger in exchange for the complete stranger’s wife donating a kidney to Sam. It turns out that both of the wives were perfect matches for each other’s husband.
“I was in no position to fight Tracy on donating her kidney for me,” Sam said.
Tracy said it was never a question for her if it meant being able to save the life of the man she loves.
“I just knew I needed to do something. I had two good kidneys. My kids were a little concerned but it was something I wanted to do. I worked hard to get him back after we had gone our separate ways all those years ago and I wasn’t going to give up on him again,” she said.
It has been nearly four years since the kidney exchange. The Whites now live in the Pearland area and together they share four children from previous marriages. Tracy said she jokes with Sam that he is stuck with her for life since she gave up a kidney for him.
“I remind him every day he is my soulmate,” she said.
Sam agrees. “She completes me. She is beautiful, smart and kind, and has no flaws,” he said, pausing for a moment, “except when she rolls her eyes at me like she is doing now.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you have a love story you would like to submit, please send an email to editor@bluebonnetnews.com. Please include a photo of the couple.
Congratulations Sam!
Love you, Sam!