ROBINSON, Texas (KWTX) — Brandon Crouch was running out of time.
The 54-year-old Robinson, Texas, man and owner of Ironhorse Roofing had been on dialysis for nearly three and a half years after Type 1 diabetes and other sicknesses destroyed his kidneys in January 2023. He continued working through it all — but the man who once owned a gym and lived for working out could barely make it to his car without collapsing from exhaustion.
“Used to, I didn’t have enough energy to walk to the car — if I walked to the car, I was exhausted,” Crouch said. “And now I go to the gym and work out 45 minutes a day. It changed my life totally.”
He would lie awake at night, haunted by the statistics. Dialysis patients in his situation, he said, typically survived four to seven years. He was at three and a half — and getting worse.
“I would wake up in the middle of the night sometimes and I’d be upset about it because if you read — being on dialysis four to seven years and you pass away — and I was at about three and a half years. So it was on my mind a lot and I was getting worse and worse and worse.”
Brandon Crouch, of Robinson Texas, with his family(Courtesy Photo)
A Facebook Post That Changed Everything
In March 2025, his wife Kelly made a decision her husband wasn’t thrilled about. Brandon, a private man, didn’t want attention. But Kelly had watched him suffer long enough.
She posted his story on Facebook — not asking for a donor, just telling the truth about what their family was going through. Twenty-seven people reached out wanting to be tested.
One of them stood out.
Jessica Kocian, a 39-year-old dental sales representative with Patterson Dental, lived right there in Robinson. She and Kelly weren’t even Facebook friends — Kocian had simply come across the post.
Jessica Kocian Robinson resident who donated a kidney to Brandon Crouch(Courtesy Photo)
“I just saw Kelly had made a post about their situation and it was just something that was put on my heart,” Kocian said. “I just felt like this tug to do it. I reached out to Kelly and throughout the whole journey I just felt like it was something God was calling me to do. I just really felt at peace with the decision and I knew that that was my purpose.”
Kocian’s husband Cody tested as well. The two stayed in close contact with Kelly throughout the entire process — and one day, they showed up at the Crouch family’s front door.
“The doorbell rang,” Kelly recalled. “It was Cody and Jessica coming over to ask Brandon if he was ready for a new kidney.”
Brandon, who had been let down twice before by potential donors who couldn’t make it to the finish line for medical or personal reasons, was almost afraid to hope.
Setbacks, Heartbreak — and a Second Chance
The road to surgery was anything but smooth.
A surgery originally scheduled for July was derailed when Brandon had skin cancer spots removed — not realizing it would affect the transplant timeline. Medical City Hospital in Fort Worth dismissed them from the program for not getting prior approval for the procedure.
“We were devastated and felt like all hope was lost,” Kelly said.
But Jessica Kocian refused to give up. She made phone calls, did her own research, and led the family to UT Southwestern in Dallas — where they started the process over from scratch. In October, Brandon required heart stents, pushing the surgery back several more months.
Finally, on April 20, Brandon Crouch received Jessica Kocian’s kidney.
“She Is My Angel”
Two months later, the transformation is remarkable.
Brandon — the man who couldn’t walk to his car — now works out 45 minutes a day. He’s back to running his roofing company. He’s present for his two stepchildren in a way he couldn’t be before.
“I feel amazing. It really made me live again. It’s just changed my life greatly. I feel like a million bucks,” he said.
The gratitude he feels for a woman who was, until recently, a complete stranger is beyond words.
“Words can’t really describe it. It’s beyond a blessing because we didn’t know each other and she just came up and wanted to donate — and it really saved my life, to be honest with you. Because I was in a really bad place. It saved my life. Started my life over again.”
“One hundred percent — she is my angel. One hundred percent.”
Brandon Crouch and Jessica Kocian after kidney transplant surgery in Texas(Courtesy Photo)
For Kocian, the experience has been equally profound — even if she still struggles to fully grasp what she did.
“I think I still don’t really understand the magnitude of it. I know that it’s such a big deal — but to me it seemed like something so small that I could do for another person to literally give them the gift of life,” she said.
Her recovery was faster than expected. She went home the day after surgery, spent about two weeks in recovery, and was back to everyday life shortly after.
“There is no way we could ever not be connected — so it’s pretty incredible,” Kocian said.
A Message for Others
Both families say they hope their story inspires others to consider living organ donation.
“We’re excited that we were able to go through it together,” Kocian said. “I couldn’t have asked for better people to go on this journey with. The biggest thing is we just want to raise awareness for other people — that it seems like something really scary, but it’s so incredible what the body can do.”
For more information on living organ donation, visit organdonor.gov.
Brandon Crouch and Jessica Kocian after kidney transplant surgery in Texas(Courtesy Photo)
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