Randy Newman sings it well in his song from the movie Toy Story, “…There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. We stick together and we see it through. ‘Cause you’ve got a friend in me.”
When Scott Snellings met Jacob Thompson his freshman year at Baylor University, he had little idea how true those words could be. While they quickly became best friends during their years in college, their relationship continued later in life, each serving as groomsmen in the other’s wedding. Scott even named his son Jacob. It wouldn’t be until much later that the true depth of their friendship would reveal itself.
As previously featured in Celina Lifestyle and Texoma City Lifestyle, Scott Snellings (SnellingsInjuryLaw.com) experienced a transformative event in 2008. He had been practicing law for some time and began encountering significant health problems which required powerful medications. Unfortunately, those medications severely damaged his kidneys. His physician informed Scott he would need a kidney transplant at some point.
This life-changing news was difficult for Scott and his family as he faced the unknown of when this transplant would be needed, how best to care for his kidneys in the meantime, and if a donor be available when the time came. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, as of February 2023, 88,658 people were on the waiting list for a kidney transplant in the United States.
That time came in 2017. “My doctor told me it was time for the transplant and to ask everyone and anyone if they would test,” notes Scott. “By far, it was the hardest thing I have ever done. I am not that person who typically asks others for help,” he continued. Scott believed God was speaking to him loud and clear. “I put my ego aside and asked everyone I knew,” he responded. He considered it his duty to his three kids and wife to do everything to find a kidney donor.
In addition to finding a blood match, a person must be medically compatible and extremely healthy, able to function with one kidney. Transplants often come from donors that have passed away since the criteria for live donors are so substantial.
Thankfully, Scott had two matches: his Father-in-Law and his best friend, Jacob Thompson. “It brought me to tears that people would do this for me,” Scott recalled. After the doctors chose Jacob (since he was younger), he underwent months of additional tests, not easy since Jacob lives in Oklahoma. “That shows even more what kind of friend he is,” Scott mentions.
On Halloween 2017, Jacob donated his kidney to his best friend. Scott jokes it was “Frankensteinesque” but nothing like a horror show. Jacob's wife, who was eight months pregnant, Jacob, Scott, and their families prayed before the surgery. Scott recalls feeling a sense of peace that all was going to be ok regardless of the surgical outcome. After a successful surgery, both recovered on the same floor including daily laps walking around the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) floor.
When asked why Jacob chose to help, Scott immediately said, “Jacob is a giver. He served in the military, he serves in his church, and he has always put others before himself. If Jacob was going to offer a kidney, no one was surprised. Faith, family, and friendship are everything to him,” he continued.
For seven years the Snellings and Thompson families have celebrated the “donation anniversary” traveling everywhere from Tulsa to Tuscany. Scott says, “It is a great way to celebrate and be thankful” for a true unmeasured gift.
“The way you repay for a gift like that is not money or gifts. Instead, you live each and every day to its full potential and full of joy regardless of circumstances, knowing that’s what makes each day possible,” Scott emotionally explains.
Scott Snellings owns Snellings Law with offices in Sherman, Frisco, and Dallas. He and his family live in Celina. Scott is training for his first marathon this fall and is scheduled to run the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington, D.C. thanks to his best friend's life-saving gift.
SnellingsInjuryLaw.com