Birmingham Fire Chief Cory Moon and his older brother share a gift of love and life

By Barnett Wright | The Birmingham Times

As a longtime City of Birmingham firefighter and now chief of the City of Birmingham Fire & Rescue Service (BFRS), Cory D. Moon is used to saving lives. But one life he saved is especially special to his family – that of his brother, Rodney, he said.

The selfless act did not take place during an operation in a city neighborhood, but at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) hospital, where Cory donated a kidney to his older brother 22 years ago.

“My brother was diagnosed with kidney disease (while attending the University of Alabama) and his condition worsened over the years,” Cory, 45, told the Birmingham Times. “He was getting ready for dialysis when we found out we were a match for him.”

“Dialysis is a treatment that… removes excess fluid and waste products from a person’s blood when the kidneys are unable to do so,” the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) report states.

“(Because we) did the transplant, … (Rodney) never had to go on dialysis,” Cory said.

The Transplant Games of America, taking place this week in the Magic City, is the 33rd annual celebration for recipients and living donors – like Rodney and Cory – as well as donor families, people on transplant waiting lists, caregivers and transplant professionals.

“It’s a big deal for the city of Birmingham to even host these games, and it’s an even bigger deal to have so many donors and recipients in one place at the same time,” Cory said. “I get to meet some of my brothers and sisters who will be coming to Birmingham.”

“Action of a grown man”

Rodney, 48, described his younger brother’s decision to donate a kidney as “the act of a grown man.”

“When you’re a big brother, you always see your little brother as a little brother,” Rodney told the Times. “As a grown man, I developed a certain respect for him. That helped me get closer to him as a man, as a brother, not just a little brother who always followed us around and wanted to be one of the big guys. It’s hard for me to put that into words.”

When it came to donating an organ for his biological brother, there were “no concerns at all,” Cory said.

“I had just become a firefighter a year before the kidney transplant, so I wasn’t sure if I could continue as a firefighter or continue working,” he recalls. “It didn’t matter to me at all. The only thing that mattered to me was whether my brother was OK. I didn’t think about it for long.”

It didn’t have to be his brother to become a donor, Cory added: “The gift of giving someone life is priceless. There is no downside to saving a life. … Think about the outcome and how you can save someone’s life just by donating that organ.”

Rodney and his mother wondered what it would mean for Cory to become a donor, as his younger brother was just beginning his career at BFRS.

“I remember my mom and I thinking about what effect this would have on (Cory),” Rodney said. “Would they not allow him to rappel (lower his own weight on a rope), carry bodies and do all the physical things that firefighters normally do? That’s the part he loved.

“We got the answer that he would not be affected. He would take on full duty with the fire department. Even before we got the answer, he was fully committed. … He made me respect him even more, apart from the fact that he is the little brother.”

achieve goals

The Moon brothers grew up in the Central Park district of Birmingham’s West End and came of age in the 1980s.

“There was no cable TV, Mom wouldn’t let you go out in extreme heat until the sun went down, and you weren’t allowed to go in and out the door to let the air out,” Rodney recalled. “I remember there was an emergency at a house across the street and the fire department pulled up. … We heard the fire sirens and saw the trucks pull up in front of the house. … We looked out the window and (Cory) said to me, ‘One day I’m going to be a firefighter.’ He never chose any other career. He never strayed from those words.”

“He was completely excited about the idea of ​​being a firefighter from a young age. … I’m just impressed that he was so focused on doing what he wanted to do at such a young age,” Rodney said.

Cory also remembers that day clearly. “The fire happened when I was 10, but I knew I wanted to be a firefighter since I was five,” he says. “The firefighters actually took the time to talk to me after they put out the emergency… and that fascinated me even as a kid. As I got older, that desire only grew. My first job was at the Food Fair (supermarket) around the corner from my house in Five Points (area); it’s now the Birmingham Public Library. It was right across from a fire station, so when I was 15, I always saw those guys coming and going, and that made (my) desire (to be a firefighter) even stronger.”

“I was lucky to have good mentors (as well). … I stayed focused on who and what I wanted to be, and I was able to achieve my goals,” added Cory, who joined the BFRS in March 2001. He was appointed chief by Mayor Randall Woodfin in October 2019 and sworn in in February 2020.

“Something is not right”

Rodney recalls being diagnosed with kidney disease in 1995. “I was attending the University of Alabama and started to experience the first symptoms of kidney failure,” he said. “My legs were swollen and that was a sign to my mother, who has always been in the medical field. … She looked at my legs and said, ‘You have fluid retention. Something is wrong.'”

Doctors had Rodney do a 24-hour urine test. This can provide information about the functioning of the kidneys by measuring how well they clear the blood of proteins, hormones and other chemicals such as creatinine. If the level is too high, it can indicate a possible kidney problem.

After receiving the results of the 24-hour urine test, Rodney was referred to a nephrologist, a doctor who specializes in treating kidney disease, who diagnosed him with focal sclerosis. The “focal” part, he said, meant “it was confined to my kidneys and wasn’t going to spread.”

“My nephrologist was at Princeton Hospital and they were able to slow my kidney failure by about five years,” Rodney said. “I was able to graduate (from Alabama in 1997), join the fraternity Omega Psi Phi, Incorporated, Beta Eta Chapter and do many other things. I was normal.”

That was the case until 2001 or 2002, “when I started failing miserably,” he said.

“Come closer together as a family”

Then his younger brother came into play. “At first, I had to stay in the hospital for a day or two just to do the matching part and see if we were a good fit,” Cory recalled.

Compatibility is determined by blood type, tissue type and cross-matching. The Moon brothers were compatible, “and we did the surgery (on May 1, 2002),” Cory said.

“We both went to the hospital on the same day,” he added. “I don’t remember how long the surgery took, but I remember waking up and them rolling me into his room because the first thing I asked was, ‘How’s my brother?’ They rolled my bed into his room so I could see him.”

Cory said he couldn’t put into words what it meant to him to donate an organ to his brother.

“It was just him and I, so we were always close,” Cory said. “The fact that we share this special anniversary has made our bond even closer than it already was. It’s hard to put into words how much closer it has made us because we come from a close-knit family. Of course I love my brother, but it has definitely brought us even closer together as a family.”

After the surgery, Rodney was “up and walking the next day,” he said. “I call (Cory’s) kidney ‘bionic,'” Rodney added. “He never put anything in his body that could harm it over time: no steroids, no alcohol, no drug abuse. He was in perfect shape and the fire department trained them and got them in shape. … (My brother) was in the best shape of his life and I am the beneficiary of that health.”

“My hero”

Every year on May 1, the Moon brothers commemorate Transplant Day. “We usually text each other, send each other a reminder and say ‘congratulations’ and ‘happy anniversary,’ so it’s subtle,” Cory said. “We remember this day and honor it because it’s such a special day for us.”

“I wouldn’t be who I am if it weren’t for my big brother,” he continued. “My brother is my idol. I wanted to go to college because my brother went to college. I wanted to play sports because my brother played sports. I wanted to get good grades because my brother got good grades. … That’s why donating a kidney was never an option for me.”

Rodney has embarked on a successful business career as a senior program manager at technology giant Amazon, a real estate agent and property manager, and as the owner of a recently opened Bruster’s Real Ice Cream franchise in Trussville, Alabama (with his wife, Karmen).

“I owe a lot of that energy to Cory because … I (don’t think I would have been able to) do all that on dialysis,” Rodney said. “I (might not have) been able to do all the things I could do. I’ve worked multiple jobs … and that takes energy.”

In fact, Rodney said the kidney works better than the rest of his body. “Every day I thank God that the kidney works,” he said. “It works better than a lot of my original body parts. … I thank God that (Cory) is my hero.”

The 2024 Transplant Games will be held in Birmingham from July 5-10, bringing thousands together to honor those who have given the gift of life and to raise awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation. For more information about the Transplant Games of America, visit transplantgamesofamerica.org.