Shane and Leah Moss are a perfect match in more ways than one.
The married couple works at Best Buy’s distribution center in Ardmore, Oklahoma. After Shane was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2018, he was in dire need of a transplant. Last December, he found a donor.
“The second they told him he needed a kidney, I thought, ‘Well I have two, you can just have one of mine,’” Leah said.
But the testing process to see if she was a match was complicated and long — and the chances of success were slim. “In total, I did like 27 different tests,” Leah said. “The odds of a match between husband and wife were like 1-in-75,000.”
Yet, there was always that one chance. After six months of prayers, Shane and Leah received the results: They were a match.
“I think we just sat there and cried and held each other. We were just so overwhelmed,” Leah said. “It was the best day.”
Best friends
If there’s such a thing as “meant to be,” Shane and Leah are it. Whether at home or work, they spend most of every day together.
“He’s just my best friend,” Leah explained.
The couple met in 2014 at a restaurant where Leah worked as a server. They struck up a conversation, and the rest is history.
“A week later, we went on our first date,” Leah said.
Three months later, they were engaged. Four months after that? Married.
Working together all these years is a testament to their love for each other and Best Buy. As Shane approaches his 24th work anniversary and Leah nears her fourth, both agree the company has always felt like family.
Support base
Throughout the stress of Shane’s illness and the donation process, the couple received nothing but support from their colleagues and leaders.
“People donated their time off to us, so we wouldn’t have to be off work without pay,” Leah said. “They make you feel like you matter, no matter what.”
The Ardmore facility focuses on creating a culture that embodies empathy and grace and meets employees where they are.
“Our team always steps up for each other,” said field HRBP senior manager Lee Heddlesten. “Shane and Leah are just the latest examples of that.”
Shane’s leader, area manager Wesley Young, gathered the team together to wish the couple well via FaceTime on the morning of Shane’s surgery.
“We told them we all loved them and that their Best Buy family was with them,” Wesley said.
Stronger than ever
Two months after his surgery, Shane is now well on his way to a full recovery, and Leah is grateful to see him feeling better than he has in years.
“Everything has just gone better than we could have ever expected,” she said.
The couple celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary in March, and soon they’ll begin easing back into their normal routines. Though the donation process was a trying time for their marriage, they got through the darkest moments the same way they do everything else: as a team.
“We just leaned on each other and leaned on our faith,” Leah said. “We’re closer now than we’ve ever been.”
April is National Donate Life Month.