Jocelynn James donated a kidney to police officer Terrell Potter. They knew each other because he had arrested her numerous times in their small Alabama town.
Jocelynn James couldn’t explain it, but she knew it was right. She had to give her kidney to Terrell Potter, the police officer who had arrested her multiple times for incidents relating to her substance use disorder.
The last time was nearly a decade ago. James had since become sober and started her own ministry in Franklin County, Alabama, called the Place of Grace, to help women like her.
But at this quiet midnight moment, James was scrolling through Facebook on her phone and saw a plea from Potter’s daughter, April. He needed a kidney, and James’ Christian belief informed her that she had the one he needed.
“That’s one of the most unlikely candidates for someone to give you a kidney: somebody you put in jail. And if you asked me for a list of a hundred people who would give me a kidney, her name would not be on that list”
“I still can’t tell you what the post says because I never read it fully,” she said. “I just saw that the man needed a kidney and the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said ‘you have that man’s kidney.’ It was that simple. And I threw my phone down and I was like, ‘God, I don’t have time to give a man a kidney. I literally work 78 hours a week.’”
She tried to talk herself out of it, but couldn’t. James came forward to Potter’s daughter.
“She said ‘I got your dad’s kidney,’” Potter recalled. ‘How do I go about being tested?’ My daughter kind of coordinated everything. She lives in Nashville, so she got it all lined up.”
James’ kidney was tested for compatibility at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Sure enough, a perfect match.
“They thought he (Potter) was my father when they called to tell me,” James said. “They said ‘you and your dad are a perfect match.’ I said ‘He’s not my dad. I’m not even kin to him.’”
Small town
Before becoming physically inseparable due to her gift of life, James and Potter were not close. In a small town like theirs — Phil Campbell, Alabama — they knew of each other. James went to school with Potter’s daughter, April, and they “hung out some” in middle school.
They lost touch as James grew into a young adult. James went on to have a son in 2006 and during a doctor’s visit the following year, they found cancerous cells in her ovaries. James didn’t want a hysterectomy, so she had series of six laparoscopic surgeries to keep the cancer from spreading. After each surgery, she received a prescription for opioids.
“By the time it came to the end of the battle and I had to have a full hysterectomy, I was already addicted,” James said.
“I was stealing from people. Breaking into houses. Just doing whatever I could do to get my next high.”
She remained functional despite her substance use disorder for a couple years, but her habit became progressively worse. “I became an IV user and I was shooting up 16 times a day,” she said. “I was stealing from people. Breaking into houses. Just doing whatever I could do to get my next high.”
One night, she saw her name flash on her TV screen on a local television program, “Alabama’s Most Wanted.”
“And I was done,” she said. “I was sick of living that life.”
She turned herself in at the Franklin County Jail and stayed there six months. Nine months of rehab was next. Every year since, she has been finding a way to help women who were in her position – who need a way out of addiction. One day, she hopes to run rehabilitation facility of her own.
Needing a kidney
While James’ health was improving, Potter’s kidney function was deteriorating. Before retiring in 2018, Potter had spent 44 years as a police officer, most recently for the force in Phil Campbell. He remembers taking James to jail several times.
“I enjoyed my job,” he said. “It’s something I enjoy doing, helping people. I’ve always said if you treat people right, it’ll come back to you. And apparently, I must have done something treating her right, because look what she’s done for me.”
By early 2019, he was on his way to kidney failure. He began home dialysis and holding out for a miracle.
“The dialysis never really helped me that much,” he said. “I stayed sick a lot.”
“I’m doing super good. The kidney’s working perfectly. I’ve been back every week for a checkup and so far, everything has been just like it’s supposed to be.”
He prayed for a kidney, but not just any kidney — the right one. A perfect match.
“That’s one of the most unlikely candidates for someone to give you a kidney: somebody you put in jail. And if you asked me for a list of a hundred people who would give me a kidney, her name would not be on that list. Because we had no contact or anything. I just would’ve never picked her name out. But I’m so thankful that God put her in my life again.”
The transplant
Potter and James came to Vanderbilt in July 2020 for their transplant, where they were under the care of their surgeon team, David Shaffer, MD, professor of Surgery, and Rachel Forbes, MD, MBA, associate professor of Surgery and chief of the Division of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation in the Department of Surgery.
“What an inspirational donor pair,” Forbes said, “a beautiful story of the recovery of Ms. James and the gift of recovery she was able to give Mr. Potter through living kidney donation.”
Potter said the transplant went well. “I went in on Tuesday, had the transplant, stayed Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday night and got out on Friday,” he said. “I’m doing super good. The kidney’s working perfectly. I’ve been back every week for a checkup and so far, everything has been just like it’s supposed to be.”
James was blown away by the experience.
“Everyone was super, super nice, very attentive,” she said. “I was just ecstatic. We were telling everybody the story. There were tears shed from the nurses, from the nurse practitioners.
“I would not have wanted to go anywhere else besides Vanderbilt. Everything was very quick and every time you had an appointment it was just very thorough and very quick.”
“He’s like my daddy,” James said. “On my phone, when he calls me, it says ‘my left kidney.’
Potter and James were once just acquaintances in a small town, but they’re now best friends. They call, text or visit in person about every day.
“He’s like my daddy,” James said. “On my phone, when he calls me, it says ‘my left kidney.’
We talk every day. We text every day in a group text.”
“She actually lives within 2 miles of where I live,” Potter said. “I had no idea.”
Potter’s health has greatly improved, and he marvels at the change he’s witnessed in James.
“She’s been there,” he said. “See, you don’t just throw people away. When people make mistakes and they do things that aren’t right and everything, we’re too quick a lot of times to judge people and say ‘well they’re never going to be worth anything.’ See, we don’t know. God knows. And we don’t need to be hard and as quick about judging people and I guess that’s helped a lot to realize, maybe I’ve judged people in the past that I shouldn’t. But there’s good in people and we just need to trust in the Lord and do what’s right and let him sort it out.”
