SAN ANTONIO – Even though Kent Kirkman and Karla Gonzalez had not met until Friday, they have been connected for more than a year.
Gonzalez is the mother of Jeremiah Gonzalez, 17, an East Central High School student who died last year after a car accident. Kirkman is the man who received one of Jeremiah Gonzalez's corneas.
The teen, who had yet to graduate high school, had already made the decision to be an organ and tissue donor if he died.
"I really wanted to kind of see that this process worked. You know, when you sign the paperwork that your family member is going to be a donor, what happens to that?" said Karla Gonzalez, who had to sign paperwork affirming her son's organ and tissue donation since he was a minor when he died.
Kirkman, who suffers from an eye disease called keratoconus, said he now has better than 20/20 vision in his right eye when he wears a contact lens.
Kirkman said he will likely have the same surgery to his left eye, using another donor's cornea, sometime in the next two years.
"I think there's people in their 30s, 40s and 50s that aren't thinking about that," said Kirkman, who marveled at Jeremiah Gonzalez's decision to become an organ and tissue donor at such a young age.
Gonzalez said her son, who had enlisted in the U.S. Navy, loved to help others.
"For me, it's part of the healing process to know that that's there," said Gonzalez, who received a card from Kirkman after his eye surgery.
The two later spoke on the phone and arranged to meet Friday at the San Antonio Eye Bank.
Kirkman said it has now become his mission to tell as many as people as possible how easy it is to become an organ or tissue donor.
You can sign up to be a donor or check whether you are already registered at the website for Donate Life Texas.