FARGO, N.D.- Army Spc. John Chase wasn't feeling his best when he came home on a two-week leave from his second Afghanistan deployment in May 2010. Soon after a family vacation and just before he was to report back to his unit, Chase learned what was ailing him - his kidneys were failing.
Chase was immediately placed on dialysis, a medical process that filters and removes waste products from the blood. The process would typically last four hours at a stretch, three days a week until the end of this September 2011.
That's when Army Sgt. Francisco Raatz decided to donate one of his healthy kidneys to his brother in arms. Raatz had been on both deployments with Chase.
The young, healthy Soldier had never had a surgery in his life, but volunteered for the painful process to help his friend and fellow Soldier, whom he said goes out of his way to help others.
"Part of me thought maybe it's about time somebody tried to help him for all of his efforts," Raatz said.
Against all odds, Raatz was a perfect match.
Oftentimes, 70 or 80 donors are tested before a match is found, a Guard member said, especially in a case like Chase's - he was adopted and had no family available for a potential donation.
Today, one of Raatz's kidneys is in the body of his battle buddy and they are currently both recovering from the Sept. 27 surgery.