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Parade follows long-awaited kidney transplant

The wailing sirens of a full fire and EMS escort down Main Street in Towanda were just part of the welcome home celebration for Kelly Vargason.

TOWANDA, Pa. — Just outside the Bradford County courthouse, friends gathered to Celebrate Kelly Vargason, and what is hopefully the end of her long battle with Kidney Disease.

The wailing sirens of a full fire and EMS escort down Main Street in Towanda were just part of the welcome home celebration for Kelly Vargason.

Family and friends all came together outside the Courthouse in support of Kelly. 

She's back home after finally getting the kidney transplant that she's waited for for ten years.

 "I just can't even believe this; it's crazy like so many people are here, said Vargason."

"It's so exciting. Everybody has been rooting for her from day one. She's been, she's been waiting for this going on ten years," said Jenny Bacorn, Kelly's Sister.

Kelly's Sister says that no one is more deserving of a hometown welcome like this.

"There's always a diamond in the rough…help everybody that you can, and in the end, you'll get yours," said Jenny.

This parade marks the end of a long road for Kelly. Doctors said she has a rare condition that made her chance of finding a match one in a million. 

Last summer, Newswatch 16 was there as Kelly surprised her long-time fiancée with a wedding ceremony at a ballfield in Monroeton.

At that time, Kelly was still on the list for a transplant.

All that changed earlier this month on Independence Day. 

"July fourth at 4:23, I got that call, and it was strangely calming like maybe this is really going to happen," said Jenny.

And it did happen. Kelly finally got her kidney transplant at a hospital in New York City. The organ was a near-perfect match. 

After recovering in the hospital for a few weeks, Kelly is now ready to join her friends and family back home in Towanda. 

She also plans to continue her work to help others who are battling kidney disease.

"That's going to be my mission now to help as many people as I can," said Kelly.

For the next week or so, Kelly will have routine doctor visits, but she expects that no long-term medical treatment will be needed.

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