Heroes:  Man donates kidney to practical stranger

    Kevin Board still can’t believe someone could be so generous.
  “We didn’t know each other that well, and for somebody just to say, ‘I’d like to help this guy,’ it was unbelievable,“ Board said.
    Board has always been an active person – someone who enjoys school and playing tennis.
    About two years ago, a kidney problem threatened to change all of that.
  “It was, ‘it’s this long before you go on dialysis,’ which was something I didn’t want to do,“ he said.
    But finding a matching donor was difficult.
  “Some people who were matches ended up couldn’t do it.  It was tough,“ he said.
    Then Board met Eli Blevins while applying for a job at Valley View Mall. 
    “We called him in for an interview, we hired him, and we started working together,“ Blevins said.
    It wasn’t long before Blevins heard about Board’s problem.
    Right away, Blevins knew he wanted to help, and a couple months later the surgery was set.
    “It was major surgery, because I got a scar here and two holes there,“ Blevins said as he showed his scars.
    Thankfully, both left the hospital healthy, and both are doing well now.  In fact, Board says he feels better than ever, even getting back out on the tennis court for some exercise.
    “Back, then I thought I felt good, because I was used to it feel that way.  Now it’s just like geez, I can’t believe I was able to live like that,“ Board said. “He basically saved my livelihood.  You can’t really thank anybody for that.”
    “I was raised, like I’ve said before, if someone’s in trouble and you can help them, help them,“ Blevins said.
    Blevins says even if they are practically a stranger.