When Bethenny Frankel made a surprise visit to Lully’s hotdog stand in Abbotsford, she not only had the “best hotdog of her life,” but also learned about the kidney campaign that owner Skully White runs and shared the initiative to social media.
Since then, White has been swarmed with phone calls from all over North America from people who need a kidney. From Florida, Texas, Arizona and all across Canada, White has been on the phone a minimum of five hours per day helping people who need a kidney since the Real Housewives of New York City star visited.
The story even reached back to Frankel’s home state of New York, where a caller asked about a kidney for her husband, who was a worker at Ground Zero after Sept. 11.
Although White only looks for kidneys for recipients from Abbotsford, Mission, Maple Ridge, Chilliwack and Langley, he helps anyone regardless. He has been able to provide people from all over North America with information about receiving a kidney.
White also had 11 new local people inquire about donating a kidney in a 36-hour period.
“It is unbelievable what she has done,” White said. “I was almost in tears when I started counting how many people have said, ‘OK, I am contacting the kidney donor nurse email to get the questionnaire and see if I am a match for one of your people.’”
Now there are 14 people on his list who need kidneys currently, when he usually has one to three individuals at a time.
“Having the push and exposure from Bethenny is mind-blowing,” White said.
White explained that even though Frankel’s visit is great for his business, the idea that it will potentially save lives and raise awareness around kidney donation is the bigger celebration.
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