Teacher reunites with his kidney donor for Memorial Day Weekend

Click here for updates on this story

    ATLANTA (WGCL) — Memorial Day Weekend, an Atlanta man reunited with the man who saved his life.

Wesley Wozgen, a math teacher at Centennial High School, says he is feeling great after receiving a kidney transplant on Memorial Day Weekend 2020.

Now, he’s spending some quality time with the Arizona man who saved his life.

Both men received checkup appointments this week at Piedmont Hospital.

“We are pretty much joined for life you know. It would be kind of crazy to not keep in touch with the person who saved your life and you know was sort of sent by god,” said Wozgen.

Saturday marks one year since they both went under the knife. Wozgen says since then, his quality of life has drastically improved. “I have a new found freedom, a new found appreciation for life and just trying to live as best I can but super, super happy.”

The teacher was on dialysis for a year and a half when friends, including Melinda Jones, encouraged him to start searching for a donor.

Preston noticed he needed help and stepped up. “I decided that I have two and I can help somebody out and why would I not do that?”

This weekend, the pair is celebrating life together.

“I would like people to see the both of us and realize that you don’t have to judge people or hate people because you don’t know who you’re going to need in your life. You may be judging a person who is going to save you one day,” said Wozgen.

Nearly 100,000 Americans are on the waitlist for a kidney transplant.

Here is information if you want to become a donor: organdonor.gov

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.