SAN ANTONIO — I'm constantly amazed at some of the people we meet who have dedicated their lives to helping children in the foster system, and Tamera Powell is definitely one of those human beings.
"It just amazes me that the young ladies that I took care of back then, and they still keep in touch with me," Powell said. "They tell me what it meant to them for me to take care of them at a time in their life when they (were) experiencing some hardship. It wasn't just a help to them; it was a help to me. I grew as a person taking care of children in foster care."
Powell's passion for serving the child welfare system is as bright today as it was in the beginning, and that'll be the case for the rest of her life.
"I asked God what he wanted me to do, I had actually been looking for a job at that time," she said. "They called and said, 'We have this position, and it is the hours that you want.' From the first day I started, I fell in love with that. I've been in that business one way or the other ever since then."
Powell knows a thing or two about that, and she's imparted some of that upon the children that she's fostered.
"Don't give up. Life gets better, and you are not what happens to you," she said. "You are here for a purpose, and to make a difference."
And that's where this story turns back the other direction. Powell has opened her heart to care for children in need, and now she's asking for someone to open their heart and perhaps help her. She's currently on kidney dialysis on four-plus hours each and every day, and is searching for a kidney donor.
"Right now the waitlist for myself is up to nine years. I have to keep my hopes up and have a good attitude."
Powell told us that what she's going through makes her appreciate life more than ever.
"I am actively looking for a kidney donor, and if somebody could find it in their heart to help save a life, I mean, this is basically what it is. It would be saving my life," she said. "Donating a kidney is donating life, it literally is. It would put my life back in track. My life hasn't stopped, but a lot of things in my life have paused. I would like to get back to living, having a normal life."
Powell said that she's always taking time to worry about others, and I told her it's time to worry about her. Her response?
"It is time to think about me, yes."