在2020年大流行的几周前，在天然气分销和现场建设中的工作日似乎是正常的工作日，但是当一位同事在例行事务上进入办公室管理员利兹·西尔维斯特（Liz Sylvester）办公室时 - 西尔维斯特（Sylvester）知道有些问题。这次相遇变成了一种祝福，在将肾脏捐赠给同事伯尼斯·里维拉·亚当斯（Bernice Rivera Adams）的姐姐玛丽莲（Marilyn）之后，她赢得了西尔维斯特（Sylvester）的新头衔“上帝姐妹”，并可能挽救了她的生命。

“丽兹只是一个超级人类，”伯尼斯（Bernice）说，天然气系统现代化的项目控制经理伯尼斯（Bernice）认识了利兹（Liz）超过5年。“这让我屏住了呼吸，只是想到她献出了如此迅速的想法。”

丽兹·西尔维斯特（Liz Sylvester）不认识玛丽莲·里维拉（Marilyn Rivera），在成功进行肾脏移植之前已经透析了近5年，于2021年5月进行。她不知道自己的抑郁症，也不知道自己永远不会收到肾脏。

“我什至无法解释为什么我做了自己的事情。当我与伯尼斯交谈时，那一刻我觉得这是我必须做的事情。”西尔维斯特说。“这正在改变生活。我有一种很好的感觉。每天我醒来说：“哇，我真的帮了一个人。”也许这就是我要在地球上做的事情。”

帮助某人

Liz Sylvester said she may have been more inclined to help because of her 12-year experience taking care of her own mother, Gerri Kuo, who needed a heart transplant, but had too many complications to receive one. Kuo passed in 2014, three months after surviving a stroke while in surgery.

西尔维斯特说：“那是一个创伤的时期，我的孩子还年轻。”“对于我的母亲来说，这不是很好，但我知道这是我可以为某人做的事情。”她还说，她有一个53岁的兄弟，他出生时只有一个肾脏，这使他无法过“完全美好”的生活。

This isn’t the first time Sylvester has made a quick, life changing decision. When she was 24, after losing a good job, Sylvester saw a commercial, signed up and spent 4 years as a “radio man” in the U.S. Navy, before joining PSE&G. And it’s at PSE&G where she met her husband of 20 years, Scott Sylvester, senior customer operations supervisor, Harmon Cove District Operations.

“My wife has a huge heart,” Scott Sylvester said. “She has all of the characteristics that I love. She is task oriented, smart, attractive…and she’s a great role model for our daughter. I’ve told my wife this, ‘People have heroes, you are my hero. I just can’t believe you would do this for somebody.’ It just boggles my mind. I have so much respect, love and awe of this, because I’ve got to tell you, I’m not sure I could do it.”

永不退缩

The first complication the couple had was thinking about whether either of their teen children might need a kidney one day. But Sylvester’s doctor told them it would be rare for the need to arise before decades and at that point Sylvester’s kidney wouldn’t be viable to donate.

The next complication was COVID-19. It distracted medical staff and added extra tests and delays to an already arduous process, to the point where Sylvester was hounding the hospital for test results and next steps. It also meant that Sylvester had to go through very difficult procedures alone, because visitors weren’t allowed in medical facilities. Even after COVID-19 started waning this spring, before Scott put up a fuss the hospital told him he wouldn’t be allowed to accompany Sylvester for the transplant procedure and recovery.

It gave Sylvester plenty of time and excuses for backing out – but she said her resolve only wavered once, the night before surgery. She asked Scott if she was doing the right thing, and he provided just the comfort and support she needed.

甚至伯尼斯都告诉西尔维斯特，她不会坚持自己的承诺。

伯尼斯说：“有时候我姐姐甚至不知道她是否想这样做，丽兹会为她加油，‘是的，我们要这样做。’“即使在移植后，Liz仍在起身，试图让我的姐姐起床并移动。她真是不可思议。她只是我们需要的额外力量。”

奉献的大自然

District Manager, Regulatory Policy & Procedure Chris LaRossa, who remembers overhearing Liz say she would get tested to see if she was a donor match, was surprised to learn after a year that things had progressed to the point of surgery.

拉罗萨说：“他们第一次见面是在移植前几天。”“这是一个令人难以置信的故事，我们需要庆祝利兹。”

Sylvester said she didn’t tell many people before the surgery, allowing herself room to change her mind but never needing that space.

西尔维斯特说：“如果你能帮助别人，你为什么不这样做，尤其是当你知道事情的状况，而没有第二个肾脏就可以过着正常的健康生活。”

Sylvester’s manager, Gas Administrative Manager Ben Sieradzki, said that he wasn’t surprised when Liz informed him she was moving forward with this, not just because of the experience with her mom, but it is just her nature to help people anyway she can.

塞拉兹基说：“丽兹就是要采取行动并完成事情 - 这是她的激情。”“这超出了任何人的期望，只是展示了我们在公司周围拥有的非凡人物。”

当然，没有人比玛丽莲更兴奋，玛丽莲现在尽可能多地与西尔维斯特聊天。

“我知道这是一个健康的肾脏，因为利兹是一个坚强，美丽，健康的人。对我来说，肾脏是黄金。”玛丽莲说。“她给了我第二次生命的机会。我真的爱她是一个姐姐，我的姐姐。”

Learn more about PSE&G "Heroes Work Here"