LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — "It's a nice place up here. It is nice. I come up, and I read books sometimes."
At first glance, you would think Russell Canavari and Paula Kashuba have been bonded for a lifetime.
"I love Yuengling beer," laughs Russell. "Listen, you can have one or two," says Paula.
But, the two were just strangers merely three months ago.
"So you have to hydrate this kidney, or I'm taking it back," jokes Paula.
Newswatch 16's Melissa Steininger first met with Russell Canavari back in March at the VFW in Jessup. Russell was in stage five kidney failure due to Agent Orange exposure while serving in Vietnam. Just days away from dialysis, he was looking for a donor.
It just so happened that the right person heard his plea all the way in Pittston.
"My dad passed away 30 years ago, and he was active in VFW, so I became an organ donor then after he passed," said Paula.
After seeing the broadcast, Paula, a complete stranger to Russell, made the call to the VFW.
"I said, I'm interested in donating a kidney. And Russell called me the next morning and was like, 'What blood type are you?," recalled Paula.
From there, the two have gone through months of testing. They had ups and downs while waiting for their results.
"[The Doctor] called me and said 'it's good'...We're a complete, perfect match," said Paula.
A Perfect Match. But they didn't need a doctor to tell them that.
"My personality is somewhat similar to hers," said Russell. "That's not in a good way."
"He said, 'I don't have a lot of patience.' I said, 'Right back at you.'," said Paula.
Since then they've found a striking amount of coincidences. Russell said he ran in similar circles as Paula's father due to his work with the VFW in Old Forge.
"I played a lot of ball, and I was just about drafted by the pirates until I was drafted by Uncle Sam," said Russell. "He played with my daughter's grandpa 40-50 years ago," added Paula.
What started out as strangers three months ago blossomed into a friendship.
"Well, you do know that I heard when you give someone an organ, you get some of their traits," said Paula. "And I said you're going to cry at commercials, and you're going to cry at Lifetime."
"What's Lifetime?" Russell asked. "It's television!" said Paula.
Come July 3rd, that friendship will bonded by the greatest gift: The gift of Life.
"It means there is a God," said Russell.
"I might be saving him, but he's saving me this year, too. Because I had a rough one," said Paula.
The two will be going into surgery at Geisinger near Danville. There will be a fundraiser to help Russell with the costs of the surgery and recovery. It will be held at the Jessup VFW Post # 5544 on July 13th.