CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte-area finance expert - someone WCNC Charlotte often asks "where's the money"- is sharing part of his personal life: a years-long battle with kidney disease.
You may recognize Mark Henry of Alloy Wealth from stories WCNC Charlotte has covered before on personal finance. The Charlotte businessman is now sharing his remarkable journey to recovery, something money can't buy.
Mark Henry last stopped by the WCNC Charlotte studio in October to talk to anchor Jane Monreal about investment strategy.
"If your life is not heading in the direction you want to go, then when would you want to know? Sooner or later? The sooner you find out, the less course correction you have to make," Henry said at the time.
He was full of energy, but what many people didn't pick up on was that Henry was sick.
"When we did our last interview, I was in Stage 5 kidney disease," Henry revealed. "But you didn't know. I didn't act it. I kind of got up and went to work."
He admitted he was in denial.
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"But I went through the process so I can get a donor and get on this list," Henry said.
His eldest son, Hunter, said he's known for much of his life that his dad had diabetes.
"He was on all the different diabetic medicines and you know, a side effect with some of them is damage to your kidneys," Hunter Henry said.
He tested to see if his kidney would be a match for his hero, his dad.
It was.
"When I found out that he had done this kind of behind my back, I said 'well yeah, that's not going to happen,'" said Mark Henry. "I'm not gonna do it. I'll wait on the list."
Hunter Henry said he thought his father would say that. He still went ahead with a different plan until the last minute.
"I'm going to donate somebody else then," Hunter Henry said, "I've continued on with the process, and I went to the swap program. I was getting ready to donate my kidney to someone else when my dad finally came around."
"It really forced my hand. So on November 7, I was able to get this kidney from my son," Mark Henry added.
Mark Henry said it's been an amazing journey since. The unconditional love between a father and son is now bonded by the gift of life.
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"It took a 28-year-old son to give me a gift that I didn't deserve and can never repay to truly understand what love is," Mark Henry said. "It's just it's an amazing thing."
"You know, he brought me into this world, he's given me everything that I have today," Hunter Henry said. "And I would not be here without him."
Hunter Henry said his road to recovery took a bit longer than his father's, but he's doing great now. He said his only regret was not knowing how serious the need for organ donation is.
Contact Jane Monreal at jmonreal@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.