As the baby in the family, Andy Hall remembers being a bit of an annoyance to his older siblings. He remembers tagging along, always interested in what they were doing, making things a little “less fun” in the process.
Despite being a pest, he was always close with his two brothers and his sister as they grew up on a farm just outside Charlotte.
As they grew up and moved on with their lives, each child went in their own direction, but they remained very close, if not always as social with each other.
“We’ve always been a very close-knit family,” recalls Lynn Hall, Andy’s father. “The kids always keep tabs on each other.”
Andy, a manager at the Charlotte Wal-Mart often missed out on chances to get together with the family over the holidays due to his job. But, when his family needed him most, he was right there, ready to help.
Andy’s oldest brother, Eric was born with only one kidney. At the end of summer in 2014, Eric gathered his family to tell them the news. His kidney was only functioning at 13 percent and doctors estimated he would have to be placed on regular dialysis in a year unless doctors could find a donor.
Without hesitation, Andy stepped forward.
“Without thinking, I asked ‘what do I need to do?” Andy said.
Though he was willing to volunteer one of his kidneys, doctors still had to make sure Andy was a match and that he was healthy enough to give up one of his kidneys for his brother.
“Once I found out I was a match and we knew our first option was a go, I said the sooner the better,” Andy said. “I wasn’t nervous or scared about it. I thought, ‘let’s do this and get it taken care of.’”
Eric, who now lives in Rochester Hills and works for General Motors, was overcome with emotion.
“He was just very appreciative,” Andy said. “But, I would have done it regardless of which of my brothers or sister it was. We all would.”
Lynn was also ready to help, though he was not an eligible donor because of his age. He did take a lot of pride in how his children rallied together.
“It was kind of cool, even one of the granddaughters, if Andy hadn’t been a match, she was ready to get tested,” Lynn said.
Andy and Eric underwent successful surgery in September of 2014. Both recovered without incident and are back to their normal lives.
“Things are the same as they’ve always been,” Andy said. “We each have our lives to contend with every day.”
Their bond, though, has never been stronger.