He gave one brother a kidney, the other his heart.
A Florida woman who donated her organs to a dying stranger in 2019 ended up marrying her stricken brother after they met in the hospital.
Hayley Milks, 41, said she was scrolling through Instagram during a sleepless night in the middle of a bruising divorce when she happened upon a post from a Miami woman on the receiving end of her rope.
“I’ve had enough,” it began.
“David is my fiance. He received a kidney and pancreas transplant in 2012 due to damage caused by his type 1 diabetes. However, three years ago, his body began to reject his new kidney. Since then, he has been receiving dialysis three days a week, each time feeling weaker and more affected … If ANYONE is willing to be a living donor, please message me.”
Despite her own distress at the time, Milks said the note touched her in a way she didn’t expect and spurred her to action.
“They are a young couple,” he told The Post.
“I want to do something.”
He contacted David Montoto and his wife Melissa to signal his willingness to be a donor.
Hayley Milks donates a kidney then talks to the recipient’s brother, William Montoto Courtesy of Hayley Milks
Suddenly offering a lifeline, the couple invited him out to dinner, and thanked him profusely for considering the procedure.
Even though they share the same blood type, Milks still has to undergo several tests to ensure a safe match.
Milks remembers the moment he told Melissa that he was medically cleared to be their donor.
“There was silence on the other end of the phone,” he told The Post.
“Then she started crying.”
A mother of four at the time, the yoga instructor sold her thriving studio in May 2019 and began the painstaking preparations required to part with a vital organ.
He was given regular iron infusions to deal with his existing anemia and filled dozens of vials of blood for seemingly endless tests.
The physical toll of donating a kidney, she says, makes her delivery seem routine.
Milks and Montoto first met in his hospital room after he donated a kidney to his brother Courtesy of Hayley Milks
After surgery, Milks is still numb from morphine when a tall man cautiously enters his hospital room.
David’s endless relatives were already in and out of Milks room to thank him and smile at him.
William Montoto, 40, was the last to enter.
Susu struggled to adjust herself on her bed, prompting the 6ft 5in visitor to rush to offer her assistance. The couple soon began talking, each realizing that they were single parents who had gone through a painful divorce.
Montoto, who was working as a banquet manager at the Four Seasons at the time, said he was overcome not only by Milks’ selfless actions, but by her beauty.
Susu saw an organ recipient’s appeal for help on Instagram. Courtesy of Hayley Milks
“Everything seemed to fade away when we started talking,” he said.
“I don’t want to leave it.”
As he chats with Milks, Montoto’s sister reminds him to check on his brother, who is still recovering in a nearby room.
After visiting with his sister, his mind drifted back to Susu.
“I need an excuse to go back to his room,” he said.
David Montoto’s wife, Melissa, appealed for donors on Instagram. Courtesy of Hayley Milks
“I opened the door and asked if they confirmed the parking at the hospital. That’s what I did,” he recalled with a laugh.
Despite his condition, Milks was able to regain his spirit.
“How the f— should I know?” he said. “I just donated a kidney.”
“There was a lot in common,” he said of their first meeting.
“Everything felt very organic from the beginning.”
Together, Milks and Montoto have seven children from previous relationships. Courtesy of Hayley Milks
As they continued to talk in the days after his release, William, who has three children of his own, said he needed to clarify his intentions before being relegated to the friend zone.
Milks commented at one point that he felt like he had been absorbed into David’s extended Cuban family, complete with new siblings.
“I hope you don’t see me as a brother,” William told him.
They have been together ever since.
But as their relationship develops, new challenges emerge.
Montoto started a smoothie company and the couple combined their businesses in a brick-and-mortar store called CocoMo in Plant City. Courtesy of Hayley Milks
William had been laid off from his job during the outbreak and was suddenly unsure how he would support their blended family of seven children.
“It’s not easy,” he said.
“But you just do what you have to do at a time like that.”
He would eventually get a job with UPS and later be recruited by Fedex. The position will force him to move to Tampa.
Susu and her children move with him to maintain the integrity of their tribe.
Eventually, she started a successful jewelry business, selling her jewelry at local events.
Inspired by her entrepreneurial drive, Montoto started a smoothie company and the couple now incorporate their unique business into a brick-and-mortar store in Plant City called CocoMo’s.
The couple are engaged in 2022 with an official wedding celebration planned for next summer. Courtesy of Hayley Milks
The couple became engaged in 2022 and were married at a local court the following spring.
An official wedding reception is planned for next summer.
In losing an organ, Milks said, he found new life.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
