Staten Island parishioner Suzanne Dascher donates kidney to Rev. Angelo Micciulla
NEW YORK -- Prayers were answered for a priest on Staten Island after his church launched a campaign to find him a kidney donor in July.
His match was not only someone he knew, but someone CBS2's Lisa Rozner interviewed last summer.
"I am doing great," Rev. Angelo Micciulla of Holy Family Church said. "I felt great immediately, I mean, as soon as I woke up in the recovery room I felt a difference."
Micciulla, 42, has a new lease on life in the form of a kidney he desperately needed after being diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney disease a year ago. At one point, he was even on dialysis.
Back in July, Micciulla told CBS2, "You look at the worst case scenario, what could happen, and as long as you're willing to accept that, everything else is going to be a grace of God."
Parishioners promoted the Share Your Spare campaign, getting calls from as far as Australia.
"Whatever we can do to support him in any way, we're here to do," Suzanne Dascher said last summer.
Little did we know, Dascher, a church employee and parishioner, already stepped up. She underwent tests and learned she was a match in September.
The pair underwent surgery two weeks ago at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in New Jersey. Dascher returned to work just in time for the start of Lent.
"Everything has been completely peaceful and perfect," Dascher said. "When God speaks to you, sometimes you just gotta be still and listen."
Dascher said her three sons look up to Micciulla, boasting about his tattoos, the fact that he rides a motorcycle and, most importantly, his down-to-Earth demeanor.
"They're just like, oh this is just like a normal thing, and that's good. I want them to think of giving back and giving to somebody and helping somebody when they can as a normal, everyday thing," Dascher said.
"It literally, it just kind of solidifies and cements the fact that we're all a family here in this parish," Micciulla said.
The Father hopes doctors clear him to return to church in a few months. He's aiming to get back on his motorcycle in July.
Dascher documented her entire kidney donor journey on Instagram. She said one person has already reached out to her, saying it inspired them to be a donor too.
