Bobby Dembowski, a retired NYPD sergeant from Locust Valley, went into full kidney failure in April 2024.
He desperately needed a kidney and waited for months on the list while undergoing dialysis.
Little did he know that his niece, the wife of his wife's nephew, was secretly undergoing the process to see if she was a match.
It turned out that Sarah Caponi was a match, and she surprised Bobby with a letter from the hospital stating that she'd been approved.
Sarah told News 12 that she had kept the monthslong process a secret because she didn't want to get anyone's hopes up, and feared it might be an "emotional rollercoaster."
Bobby, who has a 2-year-old grandson, said "what a gift," one he described as lifechanging.