After years of patiently waiting, Brian Merce and his wife Courtney heard the words they have been needing to hear “I’m your match!”.
Brian, who is the Tri-Valley High School Agricultural Studies Teacher and FFA Advisor, was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney disease about four years ago. In late 2019 he was told that his kidney disease had advanced to stage 5, meaning his kidneys were getting very close to failure. The following spring Brian needed emergency dialysis because his kidneys had failed completely.
Brian lost around 100 pounds and had to go through many tests before being approved for a kidney transplant. The approval came near the end of October 2020.
Several candidates have gone through testing to see if they could be a living donor for Brian. Some of them were even Brian’s former students. It is evident that his students think very highly of him. Recently he received a nomination for the Golden Owl Award which recognizes the state’s top ag educator.
Courtney has been her husband’s biggest supporter through everything. She keeps a record of his vitals daily, researches his condition, monitors medication, makes appointments, and has been actively spreading awareness about Brian’s need for a new kidney through flyers, decals on her car, custom masks as well as creating a Facebook page in 2019 called Brian’s Journey to a New Kidney where she posts regularly to share Brian’s story.
On February 22, 2021, Courtney posts “Today I received a message from one of Brian’s coworkers asking if I could meet at the school before Brian went to dialysis. She said someone wanted to meet us. I had to come up with a lie to get Brian to stay a little later and it worked. Here come three amazing women walking towards us. The next thing I hear is “I’m your match”. I looked at Brian and started sobbing. God had answered our prayers. With her permission, I share that Betsy Ritchie is in the final phase of saving my husband’s life. She shared with us that she had been through all the testing and found out she was a match and had to tell us right away. She goes to OSU for medical clearance for her part at the end of March and then we should move forward with the transplant.”
Brian’s match, Betsy, also teaches at Tri-Valley. She is a speech therapist.
“God had a plan and we are grateful for her and that she was willing to take that leap of faith. I pray that people see this and know that they can help others,” said Courtney.
