Gray Fall Festival supports local medical transplant journeys

Even sweltering September heat couldn't keep the sixth Gray Fall Festival from bringing autumn festivities to Gray on Saturday — or from raising money for local transplant patients. The festival at the Appalachian Fairgrounds brought together small businesses, artisans, food vendors and families, continuing an effort that began with organizer Devin King's own search for a kidney six years ago. King started the festival while trying to raise money for the medical and travel costs associated with her transplant. Since then, she has used the event to connect people facing similar expenses with financial support. "What I try to do is raise money to help certain people in the area that are local and that need help with travel expenses to Vanderbilt or the University of Tennessee for transplant care," she said. King's advocacy grew out of what she described as a lack of information available to patients navigating the transplant process. Her experience searching for a donor eventually led her to begin helping others navigate a system she had initially had to figure out herself. "I'm kind of a self-made advocate because, whenever I was trying to find a kidney, nobody told me how to do it," she said. "I've talked to multiple transplant patients and they're the same way." That frustration has followed King beyond her own transplant journey. She said she has contacted lawmakers and continued pushing for more public discussion about how patients can find donors and access transplant care. "I really feel like there needs to be more done or said about this because there are so many people that need transplants," she said. "It's something I'm pretty passionate about." When King learned she needed a transplant, she was not yet on dialysis and did not initially know how she would find a donor. She said the news left her struggling emotionally before she shifted her focus toward finding a way forward. Rather than waiting until she was officially on the transplant list, King began publicizing her search herself. Her first attempt was a simple social media post asking people to help her find a kidney. King was eventually referred to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she was approved for the transplant list. By then, her search for a donor was already underway. She said it took eight months to find a match. The donor was not a relative and lived in Dresden, Tennessee, about seven hours away from King. "Everything that I was doing online and with billboards and interviews on the news, all of that helped me find a donor. That's when I had my transplant." The publicity surrounding King's search ultimately became part of her transplant story in another way. She said the procedure that followed broke new ground at Vanderbilt and in Tennessee. "It was the first robotic kidney transplant at Vanderbilt or in Tennessee ever," she said. "I feel like I helped pave the way because now they're doing multiple robotic transplants down there for kidneys." King has since turned the experience into an ongoing effort to help other transplant patients. Over the past six years, she said the festival has helped several people, with 50% of vendor funding going toward those in need while some funds also help cover her own continuing medical expenses. This year's fundraising will benefit a young woman from Bristol who needs a kidney transplant. The festival's fundraising model also allows King to keep the event accessible to small businesses. Vendor fees cover the costs of putting on the festival, giving them the opportunity to sell their products and boost their sales. "They pay the fee to set up, and then I do everything else," she said. "A lot of them are small local businesses, but I try to get everybody from the Tri-Cities area. We have a couple of people coming from Knoxville." That community focus was visible throughout Saturday's festival, where attendees could browse handmade crafts, children's boutiques, leather goods, quilts, sewn items, woodwork, jewelry and home and holiday décor. Licensed University of Tennessee apparel and Simply Southern vendors also participated. Food vendors and bakeries included Husky Mountain Eatery Food Truck and Goomba's Hot Dogs. Children could get their faces painted or visit the VIP party tent for laser tag and a tall inflatable maze. King said she continues to take on transplant patients and families who reach out to her, using the platform she built through her own experience to connect with people who need help. "I just kind of take on whoever pops up in my feed or somebody sends me a message and says, 'Hey, my family member needs a transplant or my friend needs a transplant.' I just take on whoever comes to me."