Jessica Marquez Shares the Story Behind Her Husband’s Life-Saving Kidney
5/19/202632 min
This episode tells the deeply personal story of Greta’s producer, Jessica Marquez, whose husband spent nearly five years on nightly dialysis while waiting for a kidney transplant. Jessica describes the exhausting reality of structuring family life around his treatment, raising a young child during that period, and living with the uncertainty of whether a transplant would ever come. When the long-awaited call finally arrives in September 2024, the relief is immediate but cautious, shaped by earlier false alarms and the fear that something could still go wrong. The story then opens into something even more moving: the discovery of the donor’s identity and the eventual meeting between Jessica’s family and the family of the young man whose organs saved six lives. The donor, Ronald Schowski, was a 27-year-old Navy serviceman who died in a hit-and-run while visiting the United States from Japan. Jessica describes how emotional it was to meet his parents, siblings, and widow, and how the encounter became not just an expression of gratitude but the beginning of a lasting bond between two families linked by tragedy and generosity. The episode becomes a reflection on grief, resilience, organ donation, and the extraordinary way one life can continue through others. Got a comment or question? Send it to EmailGreta@newsmax.com and it may be used or answered on an upcoming episode. You can watch the video version of the “Greta Wire” podcast on NEWSMAX social media channels, plus YouTube and Rumble, on the same afternoon the audio version launches. Listen to Newsmax LIVE and subscribe to our entire podcast lineup at http://Newsmax.com/Listen Don’t miss Greta every weekday on “The Record with Greta Van Susteren” at 4 PM ET, only on NEWSMAX TV. Watch the show anytime, anywhere with NEWSMAX+. Get your 15-day free trial of NEWSMAX+ at http://NewsmaxPlus.com Follow Greta on Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greta/ X/Twitter: https://x.com/greta Instagram: https://Instagram.com/greta TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greta.com Follow NEWSMAX on Social Media: Facebook: http://nws.mx/FB X/Twitter: http://nws.mx/twitter Instagram: http://nws.mx/IG YouTube: https://youtube.com/NewsmaxTV Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsmaxTV TRUTH Social: https://truthsocial.com/@NEWSMAX GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/newsmax Threads: http://threads.net/@NEWSMAX Telegram: http://t.me/newsmax BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/newsmax.com Parler: http://app.parler.com/newsmax THANKS FOR LISTENING! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsGreta Van Susteren· Host0:00
This podcast is unbelievably fascinating. You never know who you work with. I have a producer who has the most extraordinary family story, and it also involves another family, and it's a life or death situation. And because I'm curious and just started talking to her, I found out, you know, what her family, what her experience has been. In fact, in fact, you can tell I'm at work, look at all my blazers behind me. Um, but I really think you'll enjoy this, because it, it shows... This podcast shows incredible sadness, hardship, but then it also shows joy and it shows kindness and what other families do for others. I mean, these are the stories that, y- y- y- you know, you read about them, but this one, when you listen to my producer tell this story, you're gonna feel it. And I actually think it's gonna inspire you. So here's my producer, Jessica. [upbeat music] As an aside, um, Jessica, you're my producer, so you get the better background. You get the professional background. I have just my office.
Jessica Marquez· Guest1:16
[laughs] Hey, Greta, how are you?
Greta Van Susteren· Host1:18
I'm good. So actually, you know, I want the, I want the viewers to sort of get to know you. That's actually a very appropriate background, 'cause you've been a producer at the White House before you came to our show.
Jessica Marquez· Guest1:28
Yes, I was producing at