Two former NYPD coworkers came together Tuesday to celebrate a new beginning after a life-threatening condition put one of their lives at risk.

“I was diagnosed in 2008 with Lupus Nephritis SLE and it attacked my kidneys,” said retired NYPD Lieutenant Sonia Wilson.

Last December, Wilson said her body suffered from stage 5 renal failure. She began receiving dialysis and soon learned she would need a kidney transplant to survive.

The news came just a few years after seeing her parents die in 2020, which was the same year she retired.

Wilson felt broken and hopeless.

“I was in a dark place,” she said. “I couldn’t do anything but lie in my bed. Go to the doctor, come home and lay in my bed.”

“I gave up on my faith, Wilson continued. “I was just in a dark place.”

Her former colleague, NYPD Officer Diolis Espaillat, was also facing a crisis.

Espaillat’s cousin, Jonathan Mercedes, was on his deathbed.

“Jonathan was a loving person, charismatic,” Espaillat said. “He was battling substance abuse. That’s why he ended up where he ended up. He was declared brain dead on Dec. 22.”

It was around that time Espaillat saw a link to a crowdsourcing fundraiser for Wilson. It sparked a connection — a life-saving connection.

“It must have been something from god because when I read her GoFundMe it was an immediate reaction,” Espaillat said. “There was no thought process.”

Once Espaillat received her family’s blessing, her mind was made up.

“She called me Christmas Day, and she was like Lieutenant, I’ve got something to tell you,” Wilson said. “We’re about to take my cousin off of life support and we want to give you his kidney.”

Testing confirmed they were a match and on Dec. 31, Wilson underwent a kidney transplant and received Jonathan Mercedes' kidney.  

“I just knew Jonathan was sitting right here, and that he gave me life and that he saved my life,” said Wilson.

Officer Espaillat said this was the first time any of her relatives had been organ donors.

She said her family donated several other organs that belonged to her cousin, though they do not know who the recipients of those organs are.

In New York state, the wait list to receive a deceased donor kidney can take up to seven years. Wilson only had to wait for six months.

Not only does she have a new shot at life, Wilson and Espaillat said the experience has given them a new outlook on life.

“You’ve got to live your life. Every day, live it as if it’s the last day,” Espaillat said.

“Very thankful. Very happy and very blessed,” Wilson said.