MONTGOMERY CO., Va. – While the call to care for others is seemingly innate in many medical professionals, a local nurse at LewisGale Montgomery Hospital is willing to give the ultimate gift, an organ donation from her own body, when one of her co-workers became a patient.
Organ donation is not only an end-of-life decision. A donor can live a full and healthy life after donation. Research from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services shows recipients of organs from living donors have better outcomes than those who receive organs from deceased donors.
In the United States, more than 100,000 men, women and children are on the national transplant waiting list.
Rhonda Whaling, coordinator of volunteer students and community events at LewisGale Montgomery Hospital has worked there for 32 years.
“It’s always been a sense of family here at the hospital,” Whaling said.
She is known for her enthusiasm and dedication, organizing volunteers at the hospital and planning events to motivate and reward her coworkers and volunteer staff.
“I love working with volunteers. They give of themselves. They don’t have to be here, but they do,” Whaling said. “I love being around people, making them smile. I dress up in silly costumes and stuff like that just to boost morale.”
While at work in January of 2023, Whaling became ill. She said CEO Lauren Dudley urged her to be admitted to the ER.
“She knew something wasn’t right," Whaling said.
Whaling was ultimately diagnosed with with non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver {NASH). In September of 2024, she learned she needed a transplant: “The doctor’s words were, ‘You need to get the transplant or you’re gonna die.’ Those were the exact words. Kind of sobering.”
Asked what it was like to be told she needed a liver transplant, she said simply, “It’s scary,” Whaling said. “From the walk out of his office to my car, I was just like, oh my God, I’m going to die. Because I’m not that person to go and say, hey, can you give me anything.”
But she didn’t have to ask. One of her co-workers took it upon herself to post on an employee Facebook group she was in need of a living donor.
Several employees stepped up, volunteering to get tested.
“Something about working at a small hospital is that everyone knows everyone, and you really do care,” said Rebecca Hooper, a registered nurse at LewisGale. “It is about the human beings here.”
Hooper turned out to be a match.
“Rhonda gives herself every single day she comes to work. She gives 100% of herself every day. So it’s easy to give a little piece of myself to her,” Hooper said.
When Hooper found out she was approved as a donor, she described the moment as “unreal.” Hooper had always wanted to be a living donor. She first learned about it during nursing school.
“It just felt into place, every little step. We were a match, my scans were good, my liver’s the exact right size. It just, it was like meant to be,” Hooper said. “There’s not enough love in the world. And this is my way of contributing to the love in the world.”
Whaling recalls, “The day she found out that she was approved, she texted me, ‘Oh my God, are you sitting down? I’m excited. They accepted me. We’re going to do it.’ And that was her text. She was so excited. I think she’s more excited than I was at the time.”
Their LewisGale work family celebrated the match last week during a party at the hospital.
Whaling is overwhelmed with gratitude. “Rebecca, she’s... I can never say thank you. Thank you is not enough to tell her what I really feel.”
The transplant will happen soon at VCU Medical Center. WSLS 10 sends them well wishes during their surgery.