This Starbucks Barista Saved Her Customer's Life
Though she and longtime customer Vince Villano, 41, had spoken many times before, Starbucks barista Nicole McNeil sat him down one day last year after she noticed he was particularly glum, KIRO reports. What ensued was an incredible year-long journey that culminated in McNeil's husband donating a kidney to Villano, and, therefore, saving his life.
In January of 2017, Villano explained to McNeil at a Tacoma, Washington, Starbucks he was suffering from polycystic kidney disease, a debilitating condition that's only truly helped by a kidney transplant. At the time of their conversation, Villano's kidneys were functioning at four percent of what they should have been.
McNeil's heart broke for Villano, a vet who'd been on the brink of dialysis, and later that day she told her husband Justin, 36, about the conversation. Justin's immediate response? "‘I've got a kidney, you know, we could do this. I think I'm willing to do that.’ It didn't take long,'" he told KIRO.
"Before he knew anything else about the man, that was his first thought," McNeil said in a video of the story published by Starbucks. Miraculously, Justin (who is also a veteran) and Villano were a match and arrangements began for the donation.
Not only did the donation pan out, but the McNeils and Villano have now become incredibly close friends. "In general, having them as friends, family, I wouldn't want it to not be this way. I can't imagine not having them in my life,” Villano told the station.
Both Villano and Justin had their surgeries yesterday, according to an update posted by Starbucks: "The doctors told [McNeil] the kidney Justin McNeil donated to Villano looks great, and a post-surgery ultrasound confirmed it is functioning well."
You can read more about Villano's incredible story here.
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