More than 6,000 runners took part in the 124th annual Around the Bay Road Race in Hamilton over the weekend. Among them was Amy Brown, who says she was able to lace up for the five-kilometre event because of the generosity of a stranger.
She experienced organ failure after giving birth to her son and was on dialysis for three years while waiting for a new kidney.
When Kerry Greenley of British Columbia saw Amy’s Facebook post about needing a kidney, she flew all the way to Hamilton to help — even though they’d never met.
“She saw my story on my Facebook page and contacted me and said ‘hi, you don’t know me, but I’ve contacted St. Joe’s and would love to be your donor.’ So we got to know one other over the nine months,” Brown said on Sunday.
LISTEN: Amy Brown and Kerry Greenley join CHML’s Bill Kelly and Rick Zamperin
They became fast friends, and Brown received one of Greenley’s kidneys during an operation at St. Joseph’s last November.
Brown said she’s incredibly grateful for the care she received at St. Joe’s and wanted to run the Around The Bay Road Race to raise money for the foundation.
She and Greenley had been planning on running five-kilometre races in separate provinces, but Brown got a surprise when she showed up this weekend at the headquarters for the Hamilton race.
Brown said the whole experience has been overwhelming but she’s grateful to have made a lifelong friend.
Brown and Greenley ran every step of the race together, finishing in a time of 38 minutes and 42 seconds.