Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Four years ago, Chris Schenk joined the choir at her church in Hastings, Nebraska, and met Bob Matthies. She had no idea how connected their lives would become.
For more than a decade, Matthies had been battling kidney failure. After years of declining health and a lengthy wait for a transplant, he found himself relying on dialysis, a demanding treatment that consumed nearly every night of his life.
"It was about a 10-hour process every single night, seven days a week, without fail," Matthies says.
His kidney team here warned him that a transplant would eventually be necessary. He spent more than three years on the waiting list and eventually began dialysis as he waited for a donor.
Meanwhile, Schenk began noticing changes in him.
That's when she started wondering how she could help.
Four years ago, Chris Schenk joined the choir at her church in Hastings, Nebraska, and met Bob Matthies. She had no idea how connected their lives would become.
For more than a decade, Matthies had been battling kidney failure. After years of declining health and a lengthy wait for a transplant, he found himself relying on dialysis, a demanding treatment that consumed nearly every night of his life.
"It was about a 10-hour process every single night, seven days a week, without fail," Matthies says.
His kidney team here warned him that a transplant would eventually be necessary. He spent more than three years on the waiting list and eventually began dialysis as he waited for a donor.
Meanwhile, Schenk began noticing changes in him.
That's when she started wondering how she could help.
