Jessica Jun

Staff Writer

@jesse_jun16

In 2003, a call sent Coppell police officer Jim “JT” Turner searching for, chasing after and arresting a suspect. Hours after the

incident, a pounding headache led Officer Turner to receive a check up where he was told that his blood pressure was unusually high. Alarmed, the doctors ran a few tests and diagnosed him with glomerulonephritis.

“Glomerulonephritis is basically when the vessels in your kidneys are not functioning the way they need to in order to clear out the toxins out of your body,” Turner said. “But my kidneys are producing too many antibodies, and it’s scarring and causing kidney failure.”

With no physical pain and about 50 percent kidney function, Turner was able to overlook this sudden disease and continue back with his normal life.

However, in 2013, his kidney function plummeted to about 20 percent and doctors immediately placed Turner onto a donor wait list.

“That’s when it really started hitting home: when [the doctor] said it was time to put me on a donor list,” Turner said. “It started affecting my performance. I was really tired all the time, and sometimes I would feel nauseous.”

On Christmas Eve 2014, not long after his last visit to the doctor’s office, Turner received a call from the doctors and was told that if he did not need to get to the hospital as soon as possible, they were afraid he was not going to live much longer.

“I could’ve died that day,” Turner said. “That’s how bad it had gotten and at that point, I was kind of in shock. I just kind of sat there and called work to tell them what was going on. I went to the hospital and started dialysis that week.”

As he awaits a kidney match, Turner is on dialysis three times a week.

“I’m at stage four kidney failure, which is the last stage,” Turner said. “[Both of] my kidneys basically don’t work at all. The dialysis does what your kidneys are supposed to do: it takes your blood, cleans it and puts it back into your body. Basically, my body is being poisoned and it is really bad.”

Even with his kidneys worsening, Turner remained optimistic and his story was not going unheard. Turner gained a “saving angel.”

Coppell citizen Tresha Glowacki heard about his situation and immediately got involved. Recently, Glowacki started a fundraising campaign in effort to raise money and awareness.

“We didn’t know each other well, but I just wanted to help,” Glowacki said. “Being a living kidney donor myself, I know that it costs a whole lot of money for the entire process. But I also wanted to raise awareness about becoming an organ donor.”

With enough awareness raised, a large fundraising event was held at Core Physical Medicine center on Oct. 31. The event revealed the underlying importance of the fellowship of Coppell.

“The fact that people are willing to give so much for a person in need is so special,” Turner said. “I love this community because I’ve been serving for 15 years and right when I needed help, these people turned around and helped me. I didn’t ask, but they just wanted to do something for me and that’s great.”

Despite being scared for his best friend’s life, Coppell Police Officer Byron Mitchell has high hopes for Turner’s future.

“I [am] scared for him,” Mitchell said. “But one thing I know is that he’s a tough guy. In this line of work, we see things like this all the time, but his nature is that he never gives up. I know that he is going to give this disease a challenge.”

Not only police officers, but numerous citizens of Coppell also noticed his optimistic personality and inspiring perseverance. As his story began to spread, more and more people were willing to donate and lend a helping hand to Turner and his family.

“It’s a gift to see such a special community get together where people are always behind you and have your back,” Glowacki said. “Getting involved in things like this, especially when it is a life or death situation, just restores your faith in mankind. To me, in giving, I think you receive so much more.”

Many recognized the community’s willingness to support Turner, as well as his gratitude toward the Coppell community.

“It’s just amazing how much people care,” Mitchell said. “You read about these things happening to other people, but when it happens to you, it’s like ‘wow.’ But I know it’s going to work out for him. He’s so thankful and grateful that people are stepping up to help him. He almost didn’t know what to say. You ask me to talk about him, and that’s easy. In all honestly, he’s just a really good friend.”

With a serving mind and grateful heart, Turner has never been more appreciative of the community than now.

“You work this job and know that you may have to give your life one day and you never know,” Turner said. “But never has that been more calling than now because, basically, I need a kidney and can’t live without it, and people are willing to give their parts to help me out and that’s awesome. It makes me want to be a better person. I’m just really grateful.”
To donate and support Turner or check the updates on the fundraiser, visit his GoFundMe campaign.