One Bradford man received what his wife called a “Christmas
miracle” on Monday.

On Christmas day, John Brown – who, along with his wife, Kim,
own J&K Pet Store at the corner of Main and East Main streets –
received a call he’s been awaiting for two years. Brown got a call
that afternoon from UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh
telling him the kidney he’s needed for the last two years was
available.

“My son and I had gone to the (pet) store to take care of the
animals,” Kim Brown told The Era from Pittsburgh Tuesday afternoon.
“My husband called me on my cell phone and said UPMC had a kidney
for him, and we left that night.”

Brown said she and her husband hit the road to Pittsburgh about
9 p.m. Monday and arrived at the hospital about 3 a.m., after
getting lost briefly downtown, she said. John Brown went into
surgery about 7 a.m. Tuesday, she said.

The kidney transplant surgery lasted a little more than four
hours, Kim Brown said, and with preparations and arrangements, the
whole process lasted about six hours.

She said shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday that her husband was “in
his room resting.”

Brown went on to say her husband has been experiencing kidney
failure for the last two years, brought on by diabetes. As a
result, he was undergoing dialysis three times a week locally, she
said.

“We expect, if all goes well, he can come home in about a week,”
she said.

In the meantime, their children – Cassidy, 23, and Josh, 18 –
along with family and friends are manning the pet store so it will
be open normal hours as much as possible.

“This is quite a blessing,” Kim Brown said, “a Christmas
miracle.”

Dialysis should be a thing of Christmas past, she said, adding
the task at hand will be for her husband to endure an intense
regiment of anti-rejection medication. His recovery will also
include many follow up appointments to make sure the organ is
functioning properly, both in Pittsburgh and locally, she said.

Brown apologized during the interview for being groggy or
scatterbrained, adding she had been up since 7 a.m. Monday and had
only gotten three hours sleep Sunday night, Christmas Eve, as their
family attended the late Mass that night.

Becoming emotional, she added, “I think the angels followed us
out of church.”