On November 17, 2016, Jose Fernando Osornio will receive a kidney transplant from his best friend, Elliott Jones at the Kidney Transplant at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio, TX.

courtesy of family
courtesy of family
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Both families are raising money to offset medical costs and assist with expenses as they recover.

This Saturday, November 5th at 7:00 AM, there will be a food sale in front of Lowe’s Grocery Store, 410 Ellis St, in Menard. Breakfast tacos and brisket plates will be sold throughout the day. Tacos are $3 and plates are $8. The plates will include rice, beans, and potato salad. This fundraiser is being hosted by Jewel Petty and Marcie Petty. For more information, contact Jewel at 325-456-0533 or Marcie at 325-203-0333.

On Saturday, November 19th, at 8:00 AM, there will be a garage / bake sale at the Pablo and Mary Osornio Family residence. The address is 1449 Tipton St., Menard, TX. Pablo and Mary are the uncle and aunt of Jose and Armando.  For more information, contact Mary Osornio at 325-396-2409, Yolanda Osornio at 325-396-5285, or Angelina Osornio Torres at 325-374-7304.

Back on January 25, 2016, Jose was working as a sheriff’s deputy in Eldorado, TX, when he suddenly fell ill. He was taken to Shannon Medical Center in San Angelo, TX, where he learned he had kidney disease. For Jose, this meant he was on dialysis multiple times a day and could no longer work as a deputy. A career in law enforcement was a long-time dream so this was a devastating blow.

As unbelievable as it is, the Osornio family already went through this ordeal the year before. Jose’s younger brother, Armando, was diagnosed with kidney disease on July 3, 2015 and required daily dialysis treatment and eventually a transplant.

Both Jose and Armando were born in Mexico, to Geronimo and Yolanda Osornio, but grew up in Menard, TX. They were fully immersed into the community. They attended school and participated in various sports – including football and basketball.

As children, Jose befriended Elliott Jones, and Armando befriended Qhue Jones. The boys all grew up together and became the best of friends. They journeyed through life’s ups and downs. They experienced highs in athletics and other youthful milestones, but they also experienced loss together, when a fellow high school student was killed in an accident. Through it all, they remained the best of friends. Jose and Elliott graduated from Menard High School in 2011 and Armando and Qhue graduated in 2012.

Elliott and Qhue Jones are the sons of Jewel Petty and Elliott Shannon Jones. The boys were raised by Jewel in Menard, but the boys’ grandparents, Joe Edward and Janice Baker, and their aunt Marcie Petty, were also heavily involved in their lives.

When Armando learned he had kidney disease and needed a transplant, it was a heartbreaking for the family. He was placed on a waiting list for a kidney donation. It was then, Qhue decided to learn if he was a match for his life-long friend, Armando.

After a series of testing, they learned Qhue was not a match, but they were place in the paired kidney exchange program. A paired kidney exchange, also known as a “kidney swap”, occurs when a living kidney donor is incompatible with the recipient, and so exchanges kidneys with another donor/recipient pair. Two live donor transplants would occur. Suppose there were two donor/recipient pairs, Donor and Recipient 1 and Donor and Recipient 2: Donor 1 would give a kidney to Recipient 2. Donor 2 would then give a kidney to Recipient 1. This kidney paired donation transplant enables two incompatible recipients to receive healthy, more compatible kidneys. All medically eligible donor/recipient pairs may participate in the paired kidney exchange program. The surgery took place on March 2, 2016 at the Kidney Transplant at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio, TX.

They found another pair to swap with and the transplant took place. Armando and Qhue are living healthy and fulfilling lives. Qhue Jones is going to college in Muskogee, OK and will transfer to Howard College in San Angelo, TX. Armando is continuing to build his strength and health back up and plans on becoming a probation officer.

Jose and Elliott were found to be a match so Elliott will directly donate his kidney to Jose. The surgery will take place at the Kidney Transplant at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio, TX on November 17, 2016.

Elliott currently plays Pro Minor League Football with the Cedar Park Texas Punishers, in the Austin, TX area. He also works in construction. Jose plans to get back into law enforcement after his surgery and recovery.

Both families need help in raising funds to off-set medical costs and assist with expenses as they recover from surgeries. Family members from both sides are rallying together to host benefits for the families. Please see the fundraisers under
the picture at the top of this article.

Donations can also be made online at GoFundMe - https://www.gofundme.com/brothers-saving-brothers.

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