Organ donor family, recipient meet at Cabot church

Jack Folts, left, looks at pictures of Evan Cotillier, along with Evan’s parents, Kristy and Rodney, right. Folts received Evan’s left kidney after the boy died following an epileptic attack. The families met for the first time Feb. 3, more than four years after the transplant.
Jack Folts, left, looks at pictures of Evan Cotillier, along with Evan’s parents, Kristy and Rodney, right. Folts received Evan’s left kidney after the boy died following an epileptic attack. The families met for the first time Feb. 3, more than four years after the transplant.

Four years ago, Rodney and Kristy Cotillier had to make a decision that no parent wants to make. Their 16-year-old son, Evan, had died following an epileptic attack, and the couple were faced with the question of donating his organs.

On Oct. 3, 2013, Evan became an organ donor when he was taken off life support four days after being found unresponsive.

While the situation was unimaginable, Rodney and Kristy knew what Evan wanted. Just a few weeks earlier, Evan had made it clear to his parents that he wanted to be an organ donor. He had watched the movie Seven Pounds with Will Smith, and the film’s theme of organ donation resonated with Evan.

Rodney said he didn’t want to talk to his teenager about being an organ donor, but Evan

wouldn’t let it go. He asked his father how medical professionals would know his wishes

to donate his organs if it ever came to that point. Evan’s epilepsy kept him from getting a driver’s license, which is often how a person indicates they want their organs donated.

“What 16-year-old thinks to do this?” Rodney asked.

Evan didn’t get a satisfactory answer from his father, so he moved on. He had Kristy pinky-promise him to donate his organs. Pinky promises were special between the two of them, but Kristy didn’t immediately see why this particular promise was necessary. Evan was just 16 years old — surely they wouldn’t need to make any decisions about the boy’s organs anytime soon, if ever.

“His soul knew what was going to happen,” Kristy said.

When Rodney found his son unresponsive at home after an epileptic attack, Rodney was able to revive him long enough for the Cabot paramedics to get the boy to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Doctors performed tests, but it was clear that Evan was gone, and the family made the decision four days later to take him off life support.

Around the same time, Jack Folts was at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center hoping for a miracle. He had been through one unsuccessful kidney transplant and was undergoing tests for a different kind of dialysis.

“I was back at the hospital, and they were doing tests on me,” he said. “That’s when I got the call.”

There was a kidney for Folts. A teenager had died and was an organ donor, and his left kidney was a match.

“It was the hardest thing for me to tell him the age of the boy,” Folts’ wife, Pat, said, “because I knew how he felt.”

Folts said he didn’t know what to expect. His first kidney transplant had failed. Fortunately, Evan’s kidney was a perfect match.

“Nothing worked with his first,” said Folts’ daughter, Jackie Holloway. “The doctors were telling us over and over not to expect anything. Things weren’t looking good. But with the second, we walked into recovery, and he’s sitting up, and he’s smiling. It was amazing. The doctors said it was the perfect kidney for him. There could not have been a more perfect match.”

The Cotilliers have met Evan’s heart recipient, and the doctors said the same thing about her situation. Evan’s heart was a perfect match for her, just as his kidney was the perfect match for Folts.

On Feb. 3 of this year, the Cotilliers and the Foltses came together for the first time. Rodney, Kristy and their other children waited at New Life Church in Cabot — where Evan was very involved — to meet their beloved family member’s kidney recipient.

As soon as Folts and his family entered the room, Kristy didn’t miss a beat. She and Folts embraced, and Kristy started to tell Folts about the boy who gave him another chance at life.

As the families mingled and talked, they found countless connections. Kristy grew up close to the Folts family. They knew neighbors and had mutual friends.

“God doesn’t make mistakes,” Rodney said about all of the associations.

While nothing can bring back their child, Kristy and Rodney said meeting their son’s organ recipients have helped the healing process. That, coupled with their faith, has helped them see some of the good that has come from Evan’s death.

“I wanted to be mad at God,” Rodney said, “but he had something in the works. We get to see the bigger picture. We see God’s hand in it.”

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