FORESTVILLE, New York — Allison Kwilos would consider herself many things.. a mother, a teacher, but a hero? No.
Katie Marsh, however, would beg to differ
"It's put me in tears many times, just how selfless and kind and incredible she is," said Marsh.
Just three years ago, Katie was in kidney failure
"I was on death's door. I was hoping and praying that ECMC would just give us a go. So it was pretty rough," said Marsh.
That was until Allison and Katie both decided to get dinner at Forestville's Tavern on the Mall. Where a question from the owner would change Katie's life.
"She was just talking to me, asking me how dialysis was going and if I had found a kidney. And I said no. And she said, well, I'm gonna find you one... Yeah, okay," said Marsh.
Skepticism.. but little did Katie know... The kidney she needed was sitting in that bar.
"Next I knew it, she was coming outside to get me, and I walked into the bar. She's like, you have to meet my friend. She's gonna donate her kidney to you," said Marsh.
"We're like, all right," said Kwilos. That easy? We asked.
Allison put it simply: "yea"
In a matter of seconds, Katie's years-long search for a kidney had ended.
Katie and Allison would spend the rest of 2023 in and out the hospital, undergoing testing until May 2024, when the pair would go under the knife for transplant surgery.
"She didn't just save me, she saved my son, she saved all my family of going through the loss of a death in the family. And I don't know there aren't any words you can say to someone that saves your life," said Marsh
And now the duo not only shares a kidney, but a maple tree as well. Sitting in Forestville Elementary's playground. Reminding future generations to pay it forward and despite what Allison says, giving them a real-life hero to look up to.