I thought the hardest thing I’d ever do for my husband was give him a piece of my body—until life showed me what he’d really been doing behind my back.I never thought I’d be the person typing one of these at 2 a.m., but here we are.I’m Meredith, 43. Until recently, I would’ve said my life was… good. Not perfect, but solid.I met Daniel when I was 28. He was charming, funny, the kind of guy who remembered your coffee order and your favorite movie quote. We got married two years later. We had Ella, then Max. Suburban house, school concerts, Costco trips.

It felt like a life you could trust.Two years ago, everything shifted.Daniel started feeling tired all the time. At first, we blamed work. Stress. Getting older.Then, his doctor called after a routine physical and told him his bloodwork was off.I still remember sitting in the nephrologist’s office. Posters of kidneys on the walls. Daniel’s leg was bouncing nonstop. My hands clenched in my lap.”Chronic kidney disease,” the doctor said. “His kidneys are failing. We need to discuss long-term options. Dialysis. Transplant.””Transplant?” I repeated. “From whom?”Sometimes a family member is a match,” the doctor said. “A spouse. Sibling. Parent. We can test.””I’ll do it,” I said, before I even looked at Daniel.