SAN ANTONIO – At first, Pamela Davis' goal to lose weight began simply to manage her relationship to food. That journey kicked off in March of 2018 but began to dwindle about five months later.
"I was feeling weak," said Davis. "I was feeling like I wanted to fall off-track with my weight loss."
Soon enough Davis found life-changing inspiration on Facebook. "A girl I went to high school with posted on Facebook that she was in need of a kidney," said Davis.
That friend was Jennifer Treviño. Davis hadn't seen Treviño since freshman year in high school about 20 years ago.
"I posted by message at 12:30 on a Monday afternoon (in August), and by 6 o'clock that night I heard from Pam," said Treviño.
Davis was the only Facebook friend to offer to help Treviño through a kidney transplant. Shortly thereafter, Davis was tested and approved as a match. Doctors told her she needed to loose more weight.
Determined not only to save her own life but Treviño's life as well, Davis lost the weight. "I discovered that there's an avid runner and a person who loves fitness under all of that weight," said Davis.
Both had successful surgeries hours apart.
"She came in the next day (after surgery), and there we were, getting through it together," said Treviño.
The high school friends now lead healthier lives with a bond stronger than ever. "I call Pam my angel. I call her my blessing," said Treviño.
Davis dreams of becoming a physical trainer to inspire others, however she experiences a lot of pain due to the incision from the surgery. "I can't always work out like I would like to (because of) the pain that goes along with (the surgery)," said Davis.
Davis hopes to one day be able to have surgery to remove the residual skin.
In total, Davis has lost over 150 pounds in exactly a year.