Former Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth was once in desperate need of a kidney to save his life, but he has since received one from someone he rightly calls “a real living Angel.”
Haynesworth posted a photo on Instagram last week, announcing that he did receive a kidney and had a successful transplant.
The donor, Zach Penny, a physical therapist assistant who drove seven hours from Arkansas to donate his healthy left kidney, effectively saved Haynesworth’s life.
“So I would like the world to meet what a real living Angel looks like,” Haynesworth wrote on Instagram. “Everyone please say hello to my donor @packzenny. This kind hearted selfless human being drove seven hours from Arkansas to give me one of his kidneys! This is one of the happiest days of my life next to the birth of my kids. We need more people in this world like Zach i’m striving to be like him.”
The amount of selflessness displayed by Penny is truly astounding. He is a hero in every sense of the word.
According to Titans beat writer, Paul Kuharsky, the surgery took place on April 15, and since then Haynesworth is feeling much better.
“Now I feel better, I see the changes in my body,” Haynesworth explained. “Now I am kind of discovering another new norm.”
On top of battling kidney disease in the past, Haynesworth has also had a pair of near-death experiences, once because of brain aneurysms, and another as a result of taking the wrong medication.
After seeing Haynesworth’s situation being so dire in recent years, it’s great to see him get what he needed to get healthy. We wish him and Penny the best of health moving forward.
