JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Roni Hays started CrossFit in 2018 while in college.

“I did cheerleading all through elementary school, middle school, high school, and I quit during college and found myself running, going to the gym, just doing that kind of thing, and I got bored of it,” she said. “My best friend has been doing CrossFit for a long time. ‘Come try CrossFit,’ he said. You will interfere with everything; We lift, we run, we perform gymnastics skills.’”

In 2017, Hays’ mother was diagnosed with Goodpasture Syndrome; A rare autoimmune disorder that causes your kidneys to fail.

“I think the biggest thing was seeing my mom on dialysis, it was so hard to see her quality of life taken away.” he said. “He did this every night.”

In late 2018, Hays’ mother was eligible to receive a donor kidney. Her sister tested to see if she could be a donor, but there was no match, so in early 2019 Hays began the testing process to see if she could be a donor.

“I told my mother on her 60th birthday that I was her rival and could donate my kidney,” Hays said.

But since she had only started CrossFit for a few months, Hays was worried about how intensely she could exercise after donating her kidney.

“One of my biggest questions before donating was, ‘Will I be able to exercise like I used to?’ because I just discovered CrossFit and got into it,” she said. “They’re like ‘yes, yes, yes,’ and I did some research and found this kidney donor athlete group online and it was just a community where we could ask questions and people could share their testimonies before and after surgery. It just made it easier for me.”

Through a group of kidney donor athletes, Hays learned: Donor GamesA CrossFit competition of kidney and liver donors and donor recipients.

“’Wait, what?!’ I said. “It was just crazy,” he said.

Hays has qualified for the Donor Games championship in Connecticut for the past four years.

“It’s so cool. “We all come together and share our stories,” he said.

This entire experience made Hays focus more on her health.

“Since donating, I feel like you’re more aware of what you’re putting in your body. You treat it better, you want to keep exercising, you want to eat healthier, but I feel like I’m fitter now than I was before,” she said.

Now five years after her donation, Hays is grateful for the extra time she was able to spend with her mother.

“I’m happy to see him working full time and playing with his grandchildren. “I’m very happy that she’s here and enjoying her life, she’s doing very well,” he said. “I always say that slowing down my life for 2 months pales in comparison to the years my mother will live.”

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