ESCALON, Calif. — Clifton Vannorsdall has been battling stage 3 kidney disease since 2014. Both of his kidneys are bad, and they don't appear to be getting better on their own. The 46-year-old's health has been declining ever since.
Now, because of his daughter's co-coworker, things are starting to turn around.
"It’s a needle in a haystack, and I bless her for everything I can," Vannorsdall told ABC10.
Vannorsdall is talking about Paula Cordova, a Manteca mother of four, and the aforementioned coworker of Vannorsdall's oldest daughter, Samantha
Cordova signed up the day she found out what Vannorsdall needed to survive, just moments after his daughter mentioned they were looking into putting him on a waiting list for a new kidney.
“I said, 'Well, what’s his blood type?'" said Cordova, recalling the conversation she had with Samantha. When Samantha told her Type O, Cordova "literally turned around on the computer that I was on and signed up."
Vannorsdall and Cordova met for the first time on Thursday.
“I don’t know how to say thank you, I swear I don’t," he said tearing up as he hugged her for the first time.
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Paula got the idea after watching American Ninja Warrior a few months earlier. A contestant on the popular game show donated a kidney to his friend and was still able to compete months later.
“So I told myself, if that ever crosses my radar, I’m going to do it," Cordova said.
They’re planning to do their surgeries sometime in July.
“Even though I gave her a hug and told her thank you, but I still don’t know how to repay it,” Vannorsdall said. “Just live a happy life, that’s all I can do and I thank her for it."
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