Effingham County Sheriff’s Deputy Ivey Williamson has renal disease, is on home dialysis and is in need of a kidney transplant. He has been on the waiting list at Emory in Atlanta since January 2014.
His rare blood type, O negative, occurs in about 2 percent of cadaver donors. He faces a longer wait because of his blood type. A better option is a live donor, which is usually a family member or blood match from those who choose to be tested for compatibility as a living donor.
Deputy Williamson is a native of Mitchell County. He was brought up on a farm and remembers his grandfather teaching him how to plow with mules. His love of the outdoors and hunting and fishing came at an early age.
Williamson lives just outside the Effingham County line in Oliver, not very far from his children. His son Daniel Scott Williamson is 14 years old and his daughter Kaden Ivey Willliamson is 9 years old. His favorite pastime is being with his children and spending time outdoors.
Deputy Williamson has a 20-year career in law enforcement. Two of his uncles were deputy sheriffs and one was killed in the line of duty. The other is still working in Decatur County. He chose to honor them with his service.
In 1994, he went to work with the Georgia State Patrol working as a license examiner, radio operator and became a trooper cadet upon entering trooper school in 1997. He graduated in August of 1997 and began working with the Statesboro GSP post until October 1998. A transfer took him to Thomasville, where he worked until 2004.
After being out in the private sector for a few years, he came to work for the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office in 2008, rising to the level of sergeant shift supervisor from August 2009 until July 2014, when he accepted a full-time administrative position. Deputy Williamson is currently in charge of maintaining the sex offender registry, and this job keeps him very busy.
Williamson’s end-stage renal disease came from undiagnosed high blood pressure. He encourages everyone to have their blood pressure checked and have regular physicals in order to diagnose hypertension in its early stages before damage is done, as it was in his case.
As he waits for the call for a kidney, he needs to raise funds to be matched by the Georgia Transplant Fund to offset expenses including co-payments for medication needed to maintain his kidney after transplant. The Georgia fund will match up to $10,000. The goal is to raise that amount.
An account has been established at Nations Bank in Rincon. You may donate by sending a check made out to: Ivey Williamson Kidney Fund, P.O. Box 293, Springfield, GA 31329. Donations will also be accepted at the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office (at the intersection of Highway 21 and First Street in Springfield on the bypass) by receptionist Stephanie Samuels.
This young man has put his life on the line for the citizens of Georgia and needs our help so that he can continue to serve, rear his children and live a life free of the dialysis he must undergo every night. Please give whatever you can or promote a fundraiser to help this man be prepared for the call to get his kidney and maintain it when the time comes. Deputy Williamson and his family are grateful for your assistance.
This was written by Susan Exley of Historic Effingham Society. If you have photos, comments or information to share, contact Exley at 754-6681 or hesheraldexley@aol.com.
