Combat veteran, 9/11 first responder gets kidney from his niece

NEW YORK - "Get it or pass away."

Those were basically the options given to Tony Jimenez by his doctors when his kidneys were failing.

The 69-year-old was told he didn’t even have enough time to be added to the New York State transplant list.

"The words weren’t you’re going to die but you’re going to languish on this list," said Jimenez.

The former Army infantryman and Purple Heart recipient had a long history of giving. He was an EMS worker who volunteered for weeks in bucket brigades on the pile after September 11. But when it came time to needing a kidney he stopped short of asking for help.

His family and friends launched a massive search through social media. Tony’s donor ended up being close to home and his heart.

His niece Julianne stepped in and decided to donate. The 31-year-old says it was the least she could do.

"It felt like the right thing," she said. "I was addicted to drugs and he kind of led me to the path of recovery and in some ways, he saved my life. So when it came to him needing a kidney it was a no-brainer."

Tony’s blood type is A- and Julianne is O- which made them the perfect match. With the surgery behind him, dialysis is off the table for now and he’s getting his strength back every day

For Christmas Tony surprised Julianne who is now a successful social worker with a special gift - a necklace with a kidney shaped charm.

"If she goes into the story of why she’s wearing it - it exposes the fact that she’s a giving person and the fact that you can do this," he said.

It’s been just about a month since the surgery and Julianne is close to fully recovered. She didn’t think twice about giving the gift of life to someone who gave her another shot at hers.