When the 29-year-old Falls native made the decision last year that he would donate one of his kidneys to his father, Craig, he said there was little that could change his mind.

"My dad is my best friend," he said of Craig, who in 2011 was diagnosed with kidney failure. "If I want to give him a kidney, dammit, I'm gonna."

On March 7, the donated organ ended Craig's 18-month bout with dialysis and will hopefully give him a chance to resume a normal life.

"I would do it again in a heartbeat," Gary told The Journal two weeks post surgery.

While it appears to be a happy ending for now, the Silvers family has had its share of twists, turns, ups and downs in the past year and half and are thankful to be looking into the future.

Craig said the entire journey has only brought him closer to Julie, his high school sweetheart and wife of 33 years, as well as his three sons, Steve, Gary and Jeff.

Shocking diagnosis

Warning signs of what was to come for the Silvers family were limited and made an abrupt appearance into their lives Oct. 2, 2011. Craig said he was spending a relaxing Sunday watching The Outdoor Channel at his home when he got a bloody nose. Not giving it a second thought, he attempted to stop the bleed, but the effort turned useless.

"It wouldn't stop bleeding," he recalled. "Then, I went into the bathroom and starting spitting up blood. I looked at Julie and told her we needed to go to the hospital."

The couple made a trip to the emergency room at Rainy Lake Medical Center. Dr. Jay Knaak, a former doctor of Craig's, treated him and instantly knew something was wrong, Julie said.

"A blood test showed Craig's creatinine level was at a 17," she said. "The normal level is 1."

Creatinine is a breakdown product of phosphate in the muscle and is usually produced at a fairly constant rate by the body. It is chiefly filtered out of the blood by the kidneys, but if the filtering is deficient, creatinine blood levels rise.

Alarmed by the extremity of Craig's levels, Knaak sent Craig to Duluth - immediately.

"That is when I began to worry," Julie said. "I offered to drive Craig myself, but Dr. Knaak was talking about calling the helicopter in. My head just started spinning."

Craig was taken by ambulance to Miller Dwan Medical Center in Duluth for further testing.

No sooner had Julie arrived at the hospital a few hours later, she was given forms to sign allowing Craig to begin dialysis.

"My kidneys were completely gone," Craig said, adding he remembers very little of the entire ordeal.

Craig was diagnosed with end stage renal disease, meaning his kidneys, which remove waste and excess water from the body, had completely failed.

"If I wouldn't have gone to the emergency room that day, I was told I would have been dead by the next morning," Craig said.

Adjusting to treatment

In the days following Craig's diagnosis, the road between International Falls and Eveleth became very familiar. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, Craig spent four hours at Fresenius Medical Care in Eveleth undergoing dialysis treatment.

Dialysis acts as an artificial replacement for lost kidney function and removes waste and excess water from the blood.

"Dialysis is awful," Julie said. "There is no other way to put it. We lived to go to Eveleth."

The couple put more than 650 miles on their Durango each month and spent over $800 just filling their gas tank.

Julie, a child support officer for Koochiching County said, "Thankfully, we had people who helped drive. I usually only had to bring him down on Saturdays."

There was one Tuesday, however, that Craig requested Julie take off work to drive him to treatment.

"I remember I wasn't feeling well," he said.

As their usual routine played out, Craig settled in to watch television or rest while Julie headed for the waiting room to crochet - a hobby she perfected since her husband began dialysis.

"All of a sudden, I heard commotion coming from where Craig was," she said.

Julie recalled looking through a window to see nurses performing CPR on her husband.

"I just sank to the floor," she said, as tears welled in her eyes. "I've never seen something so scary in my life."

Craig had gone into cardiac arrest, but was revived before an ambulance arrived to transport him to the Virginia Regional Medical Center, where he was later flown to Duluth.

Jokingly, Craig said he has no recollection of what happened except that paramedics "ruined a good shirt," when they cut it off him.

Gary admitted the experience was terrifying and he had been having a hard time with his father undergoing dialysis treatment.

"I don't know how he did it," Gary said. "I think I would have just stopped going if it were me."

It was that realization that Gary said got him considering ways he could help "get his dad back."

Organ donation

Shortly after Craig's initial diagnosis, he was referred to the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis to discuss organ donation.

"Before Craig could even be put on a donor list, he had to be stable and off oxygen for three months," Julie said.

After what Julie said seemed like a lifetime-long waiting period, Craig was officially placed on an organ donation list in April 2012. Craig had a blood type of O positive, meaning he can only accept organs from others with the same blood type.

Several family and friends were tested to see if they were a match, but all hit dead ends and were unable to donate a kidney to Craig.

Julie said Steve, the couple's oldest son, had blood pressure that was too high to be considered as a donor, and Jeff, the youngest, had recently graduated from college and just started a new job. That left Gary, who had the right blood type and was determined to help his father.

"To be honest, we didn't want any of the boys to do it," Julie said.

Craig agreed. "I told them I'd stay on dialysis for another five years before I let them give me a kidney."

Still, the couple could only smile and shake their heads when discussing Gary.

"If he is going to do something, he will do it," Craig said of his son. "There is just no use arguing with him."

Gary said he was an ideal candidate to give a kidney to his dad.

"I only have to worry about me," he said. "I'm not married, I don't have a family, why wouldn't I do this? I'd do it for my dad, my mom, my brothers, I don't care. Family is family, man."

Julie told Gary she didn't want to interfere with his decision either way.

"It was so hard thinking about my two boys," she said. "Yes, I want my husband to get help, but I don't want my son to hurt because of it."

Father/son bond

After undergoing an evaluation process, it was deemed Gary was essentially a perfect match, Craig said.

"You couldn't get a better kidney unless it grew inside me," he added.

The March 7 surgery was successful and Gary said doctors were confident his father's body would accept the new organ.

"The surgery was a little painful at first, but I have a high pain tolerance and am doing really well," Gary said. "I just can't wait until I can have a beer."

Craig stayed in the Twin Cities at Jeff's apartment, 11 miles from the hospital, for about five weeks following the procedure to allow doctors to closely monitor any rejection.

On their trip home Monday, Julie said she and Craig were a little nervous about being 300 miles away from the hospital.

On the same note, the couple stressed their desire have a local dialysis center.

"We need one here," Craig said. "What a difference it would make."

Home sweet home

While he will still have to visit RLMC two to three times a week for blood work, Craig said life should return to what it was like before his diagnosis - minus the dozens of pills he now takes daily.

"Throughout the whole process, there were times when I thought about giving up, but I knew that wasn't for me," he said. "You gotta do what you gotta do. I always say there are people who are worse off than I am."

And, an already close family is even closer, Julie said.

"We always said 'I love you' even if it was a 30-second phone call to pick up some milk," she said. "But now, we are just so much closer."

Craig agreed.

"If anybody can have a son like Gary who will give you part of him so you can live...they are lucky," he said. "And Steve and Jeff helped us out so much, it's pathetic. Those boys don't know how much I appreciate them."

The couple also expressed gratitude towards extended family, friends, coworkers and the community.

"It was overwhelming," Craig said of the support. "Everybody was just great. Words can't say how I grateful I am."

Glancing at Gary, Julie said she couldn't thank him enough for being there for both her and Craig since day No. 1.

"Gary has been my rock," she said before embracing him with a hug.

Craig added that it is like a breath of fresh air to be able to look forward to the days to come, including the August arrival of a child to Steve and his wife.

"I can't wait," Craig said of being a first-time grandfather. "I almost wasn't here to see my first grandchild. But I'm lucky I'm here and I'm so excited."