From sharing a birthday to sharing a kidney - a Wake County teacher is giving the ultimate gift to her friend and colleague.
Kristin Lundberg, a theater and dance teacher at Fuquay-Varina Middle School, describes the school's assistant principal, Ernest DeVane, as being "like a brother" to her.
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DeVane, who has been with Wake County Public School System for more than 20 years, has renal disease and has undergone dialysis most days since 2023.
Three years ago, a chance conversation in the school’s media center changed their lives forever.
“We were sitting in the media center having a little lunch and I was interrupting someone's conversation with Mr. DeVane and then he told me…that he would need a kidney,” Lundberg said.
Lundberg immediately wanted to know how she could get tested to see if she was a match.
It was a long process, and while others were tested Lundberg was determined to be a match for the father of two.
"This is completely faith driven for me. I know that this is something that God has set up that he has made happen," Lundberg said. "What a gift to be able to have this because we are so close we’re such good friends."
She surprised DeVane at school with a sign that told him they were a match.
"I was blessed to have a person with the kidney match, my kidney direct match right down the hall," DeVane said.
Lundberg said she is using the experience to help teach her students to think of others.
"I teach the kids here as well that if you are in a situation where you can give, you should give if you can, if you're able to. And this was a no brainer," she said.
The similarities between the two don't end there. They share a birthday - only born a couple hours apart.
DeVane's wife, Clarlynda, is overjoyed.
"She has been so excited to be able to do this for him," Clarlynda said. "And you know, I just couldn't express how much it means to our family that somebody would be so selfless."
DeVane said his wife trained to be able to give him dialysis at home the past few years so he didn't have to retire from his job.
"I did not want to retire early and I want to just do what I love and that’s working inside the school with the children," DeVane said.
The transplant is scheduled to happen at the end of September.
Lundberg is expected to be out of work for a month, and DeVane for a few months while they recover. Any state employee wanting to donate extra PTO days can do so by contacting the Wake County Public School System's HR Leave Processing Team.
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