Widow of North Carolina Zoo arborist killed in 2019 accident pleads for kidney donor

ASHEBORO, N.C. (WGHP) -- An Asheboro woman is fighting for a longer life in her battle against an incurable kidney condition. Alesia Langley Beal is searching for a living donor to have a needed kidney transplant.  She said her diagnosis came as a shocking surprise a few years after the death of her husband, Branson Joe Langley. Langley was an arborist at the North Carolina Zoo. He fell to his death after a workplace accident in 2019. "I had IgA nephropathy," she said. "They had to do a kidney biopsy. It's an autoimmune disease where, basically, it's attacking my kidneys." She said the surprise diagnosis revealed that her kidney's health had severely declined.  "My blood work was perfectly fine, and I went to the doctor's three months later, and I was down, having my blood work done, at stage 3 or stage 4," she said. She said a round of treatments, such as chemotherapy and medications, did not work. She hopes a kidney transplant will give her the gift of a longer life.  She said a match would go through a series of tests to ensure health. "It's at no cost to you," she said. "My insurance would pay for everything. They would even pay for the transplant itself for you to donate." Her goal for the transplant is to be there for her 16-year-old daughter, Maggie. "She was nine when he passed, so I was raising her, trying to keep up, making sure she was getting everything she needed and doing my routine stuff. ... Going to the doctor and everything," she said. "We were enjoying the best we could, trying to move on from losing him." She does not want her daughter to worry about her health. "She has already lost one parent, and my fear is her losing me, and I don't want her to lose me," she said. "No child should lose a parent at a young age." Beal said interested donors can reach out to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Transplant Services. She said interested donors can also call or text her directly at (336) 301-6211.