ADEL, Ga. (WALB) — Shirley Scruggs Campbell has been on dialysis for 12 years and six months. She is also blind. Now, she has been approved to move forward in the kidney transplant process.

Shirley said she met her husband, Melvin Campbell, in Sparks. She said her mother introduced them after seeing him walking near their home across the street. The couple has been together for about 30 years now.

“There goes somebody you can date with, you can’t run off with it,” Shirley said her mother told her.

Living with dialysis

Shirley said dialysis “takes a toll on you,” but said the treatment helps her stay alive, as long as she goes to her appointments.

“Some people be like, when you say you’re on dialysis, they be like, ‘oh, you’re gonna’ die. No, it’s not like that,” Shirley said. “Dialysis is there to help make you live.”

Shirley said she has to show up for treatment between 3:30 and 3:45 a.m.

“Sometimes it’s very hard, because the day of the morning you don’t want to get up,” she said. “You have to push yourself.”

Shirley said she gradually lost her eyesight over several years and became completely blind about seven years ago.

“I learned to live with it, and I still have joy in my heart,” she said.

Shirley said her grandchildren and family motivate her to keep going.

“My grandkids and I’m going to be a great-grandmother. I just want to be around for some of this,” she said.

A promise made 20 years ago

Melvin said he was involved in a serious accident in 2001 while working to erect steel buildings, when a truck he was riding in flipped multiple times; he was ejected from the truck. He said he was hospitalized for a month and had head fractures and memory loss.

Melvin said his wife visited him every day during his hospital stay, which led him to renew his wedding vows.

“I just made up of my mind and I talked to God and I would never, I would never forsake her, never leave her,” Melvin said. “Never turn my back on her for no reason whatsoever. And I haven’t.”

Melvin said his faith guides how he supports his wife.

“First of all, God won’t put no more on you than you can bear,” he said. “And second of all, love conquers all.”

Kidney transplant process

Shirley said she has one more test to complete before officially being placed on the kidney transplant list. She said she does not know when she will receive a matching kidney.

“It feels real good knowing that I can get a kidney,” she said.

The couple said if doctors find a match for Shirley, they will need to travel to Atlanta two to three times a week for testing, appointments, treatment, surgery, and follow-up care. The family said travel and lodging expenses are among their biggest needs during the process.

A GoFundMe has been created to help with those costs.

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