Daughter gives dad gift of life

GEETINGSVILLE, Ind. (WLFI) - A Clinton County man is getting an unexpected gift from his daughter that is saving his life.

Sid Paul spent his life raising and protecting his three children, never expecting that one of them would be called protect him.

A year and a half ago Sid's doctor told him diabetes had taken its toll on his kidneys and he needed a transplant.

In Sid's countryside home, his dialysis machine now beeps loudly.

"It does that a lot, it beeps at me. It's the bad patient beep," Sid said.

But he won't have to hear that "bad patient beep" from his dialysis machine much longer. In less than two weeks, his daughter Megan is giving him one of her kidneys.

"I've always had the back of my license signed for a donor, filled out the form. Ever since I was 16. Never thinking that I would need it," said Sid.

Sid said that he has checked the option on his driver's license to be a donor every year since the time he turned 16, but he never expected that he would be the one in need.

He certainly never expected he would receive a donation from his own 22-year-old daughter.

"It was a struggle in my mind because she's young. She's not married and I was worried about if she could have children," said Sid

"You could tell he wasn't shocked, because he knows the kind of person I am," said Megan Paul. "But very worried."

Megan said she didn't hesitate when she heard her Dad needed a kidney.

"I knew instantly. It really wasn't a decision," she said. "He's the best dad I could ask for."

Megan said that while the upcoming procedure does scare her, she's excited to be giving life back to the man that gave her life.

The father and daughter pair already have a special, loving bond. With Megan's generous gift, she's becoming more than just Daddy's girl; she's Daddy's hero.

"It's amazing how brave she is to offer that. I don't know if I could have done that, but you know, she just stepped right up," said Sid.

The surgery will be at Indiana University Hospital in Indianapolis.

Both will need time to recover, but they should be back to normal within a few months. Doctors have assured Sid his daughter's health and ability to have children someday will not be affected by this procedure.