When A Server Noticed This Veteran Looking Upset, She Asked Him One Question That Saved His Life

when a server noticed this veteran looking upset she asked him one question that saved his life [Music] it's a cold day in January and military veteran Vince Milano had popped into his local Starbucks for his usual order but on this occasion he's sporting a somewhat sad demeanor which Nicole McNeal quickly picks up on then just a few moments later the barista poses the customer a question that unbelievably saves his life a resident of Dupont Washington Vince was a regular visitor at Starbucks over the course of a few years like many other customers he frequented the establishment prior to starting work opting for one item in particular so with that in mind the retired sergeant became a recognizable face to the employees indeed Nicole certainly picked up on Vince's daily routine as she prepared his regular order most the time and given the frequency of his visits the barista even developed a nickname for him relating to his choice of drink yet beyond that she knew nothing else about the DuPont resident however that all changed in January 2017 as previously mentioned Vince walked into his Starbucks as usual but he appeared quite down when he collected his order however thanks to Nicole's perceptiveness the veterans life was altered forever just with the fortune of a quick chant and perhaps it it all started with something we all take for granted our daily routines now whether we realize it or not we all have our own set routines throughout a normal day as such these can carry on number of years especially if they fit into our respective daily schedules for instance a morning workout might become the norm before heading off to work in Vince's case though we got into a routine of going to his local coffee house at the start of the day after all a tasty caffeine beverage can do wonders and shaking off the early-morning cobwebs but the frequent trips to Starbucks only started a few years ago following a hectic period in his life when Vin's was younger he pursued a higher education at college of the sickness which is located in California that University is also housed a number of different sportsmen down the years like Dan Hawkins and mark acre as for the veteran he took a real interest in one particular subject studying emergency medicine management and para medicine after gaining that experience at college vince soon found himself in the military becoming a sergeant as time went on in fact he'd been an emergency medical technician in the army with the spell lasting for about a decade from there the former college student took his career in a different direction indeed Vince decided to try his hand in the insurance sector after the army eventually he opened up his own branch of the National Farmers Insurance Company operating out of Lakewood Washington and in terms of these services he provided the DuPont resident posted a description on his LinkedIn profile as Vince went on to explain Metron owned and operated the Milano agency is happy to serve the Olympia tacoma and seattle areas we provide a low pressure experience with extreme attention to detail in advising our clients on which protections to take advantage of and protecting their assets this relates to home auto business and life insurance at that point mints melt into the affirmation routine where he began his day at the nearby Starbucks and over the next few years he was greeted by the same barista who served up his usual order her name is Nicole McNeil but not even she could have predicted what eventually happened between the pair as a youngster Nicole was a student at stadium-- high school which is located in Tacoma Washington and she concluded her studies back there in 2001 yet that didn't signal the end of her education with a clear idea in mind the future Starbucks employee then looked to go to college in the end Nicole enrolled at the University of Washington where she studied construction management following some hard work she earned a diploma in 2005 as her life at home the Graduate built a strong family unit over the next few years alongside her husband and he coincidentally shared something in common with Vince yes much like Vince Nicole's husband Justin McNeil was awesome a military veteran ending his career in the Army as a sergeant too however the mom wasn't aware of that remarkable coincidence when she served her regular at first in any case Nicole and Justin are the parents of three children who were all born over the course of six years although Nicole had been working at the coffee house since 2014 she didn't really know Vince that well but as a barista she became very familiar with his daily routine there memorizing his standard order in addition to that the parents role at Starbucks put her in a rather unique position for you see certain jobs allow people to gauge the body language of others those in the service industry can definitely attest to that as they might begin to recognize customers from previous visits so if they're able to build a rapport over time the employees can then note any obvious changes in mood and Nicole was no different in that regard as she went on to explain to Starbucks official website in 2018 the mother said as a barista we can really tell when our customers are sad and when they're hurting on that note her powers of perception came into play at the start of 2017 on one particular day Nicole shift behind the counter was coming to a close but she still had time to serve Vince when he arrived by this point the barista was already fairly aware of a standard demeanor throughout the week according to her the former sergeant displayed the same look on most occasions speaking to mail online Nicole revealed more about Vince's Starbucks visit in December 2018 even when he seemed happy he always looked a bit glum she recalled and he wanted to just get his coffee and go yet the veteran appeared to be in a really sad mood when his server saw him on this occasion for after Vince ordered his 30 ounce of vanilla cold brew with extra vanilla Nicole posed him a question indeed she was curious as to what was troubling her customer but he seemed a little reluctant to open up undeterred the graduate persisted in her search for an answer leading to a significant moment I said I'm off in 15 minutes we can sit down for half an hour and chat before I pick up my kids Nicole told male online so I asked Vince he said it would take too long to tell you I said actually I do have time today from there Nicole finally got the answer she was looking for as it turned out Vince had been living with a medical condition called polycystic kidney disease better known as PKD this was a genetic condition that had plagued his family for generations with one of his great-grandparents dying from it keeping this in mind the Mayo Clinic provided a breakdown of the condition on its website the post read polycystic kidney disease is an inherited disorder in which clusters of cysts developed primarily within your kidneys cause your kidneys to enlarge and lose function over time cysts are non-cancerous round sacs containing fluid it continued these cysts vary in size and they can grow very large having many cysts or large cysts can damage your kidneys polycystic kidney disease can also cause this to develop in your liver and elsewhere in your body the disease can cause serious complications including high blood pressure and kidney failure in Vince's case he was diagnosed when he turned 30 and he'd been coping with PKD for around a decade but his world was turned upside down in 2016 when his physicians informed him that his condition was getting worse due to that the DuPont resident needed to be hooked up to a dialysis machine for hours at a time unfortunately prevents his kidneys ballooned in size and they began to have an adverse effect on his bile organs given the situation he was informed that he needed a transplant otherwise the PKD would take his life suddenly the retired sergeants demeanor at Starbucks made all the sense in the world when I was first diagnosed I felt like while I'm dying Vince were called on the Starbucks website it was not my first encounter with mortality I had some situations in the military but this was really out of my control there's nothing you can do it's kind of a black cloud that hangs over your head all the time meanwhile Vince's heartbreaking story stuck with Nicole for the rest of the day as she joined Justin in bed there the couples spoke about the respective days which led her to recall the change at work however no one could have predicted what transpired next as her husband made a suggestion yes Nicole told male online right away Justin said well I have a kidney he can have mine it doesn't surprise me he's that generous and that kind and it doesn't surprise any of our friends who have heard about this they're like of course Justin would do this following that bombshell the mom started to have a think in a short time after that fateful conversation at the coffee house Nicole looked to bring Vince and Justin together I invited Vince to my birthday party she revealed and then he started coming over for parties on the holidays and then he and Justin started hanging out on their own before long Vince was looked upon as a new member of Nicole and Justin's family hitting it off with the latter in addition to that the army veteran also endeared himself to their three children as a father of two himself he encouraged the trio to give mixed martial arts a try something he'd loved in the past as for Justin's offer Vince was very much aware of it but remain doubtful vert you see the chances that the pair of being a match appear to be incredibly slim despite that Nicole's husband pressed ahead with the test to see if he would be a viable candidate for his friend regarding the testing process the alena health website provided further insight it explained testing to see if you can donate a kidney begins with a blood test the tests will determine your blood type and if it will match the recipients blood if your blood type is compatible with the recipient shoe more blood tests will be done tissue typing and cross matching off the back of that the potential donor will undergo a number of other tests including a physical examination and chest x-ray in Justin's case the process lasted for around 12 months by the end of it he received some very positive news with the results confirming that his kidney was viable given the good news then a date was set for the procedure at the back end of 2018 the kidney transplant was scheduled for December 26 which followed Justin's 36 birthday and prior to this the father of three touched upon why he was so eager to offer his kidney to his fellow veteran speaking to the Starbucks website Justin said I felt like offering to donate was a pretty easy answer there wasn't a lot of thinking about it it was let's do this I can do that if I got to right I can give one so that was it in the end it really is a life-or-death question and so it makes it a non question when the time finally arrived Justin and Vince were taken to the operating room to complete the procedure at the hospital thankfully for everyone concerned the transplant was a success with the coal making the announcement later that day the new kidney meant her friend subsequently had 20 years of life left at the very least in terms of recovery Justin was due to be released from the hospital around three days after the transplant he would then need to spend another couple weeks resting up at his house before returning to his job for Vince though he required a bit more time to heal as we're about to find out that's right Vince was scheduled to leave the medical facility a little later than Justin with New Year's Eve being the target and he needed to ensure that his body wouldn't reject the kidney so his physicians prescribe some immunosuppressant medicine meanwhile Nicole had one last thing to say on the matter after the operation touchingly Nicole told mail online Justin doesn't want any glory we're giving all the glory to the Lord he doesn't want to inspire anyone but we just wanted to be an encouragement to others to seek out those opportunities to help people whether it's donating organs or blood there are so many ways to help