elliott stevens has all the proof he needs t and he wants spread the word that this option works. >> i just feel grateful to give back what someone had given me, and that's a second chance at life. >> that was doreen gentzler reporting. >>> there's a lot more informatio about kidney transplants on georgetown hospital's website. we posted a linkt a nbcwashington.com for you there, so check it out. >>> veterans struggling to get help tell a news 4 i-team they are often forced to walk long distances just to see theirdo or. it turns out it's because of a huge parking problem at the va's medical center here in d.c. scott macfarlane and the i-team show us how even with an appointment, some military heroes say they can't always get to their care on time. >> reporter: getting most places takes just a little longer for se oia pointer thesedays. >> when you have a traumatic situation happen to you, you just, you just don't recover as fast as they >>think. eporter: three decades after serving in the u.s. army pointer is fighting another battle. he's recovering from a stroke, and still struggles

elliott stevens has all the proof he needs and he wants to spread the word that this option works. >> i just feel grateful to give back what someonead givenme, and that's a second chance at life. >> ts has a lot of potential for a lot of people waiting for tranlants right now. it is also sad that the heroin epidemic and all theoverdose deaths are creating so many new organ do hepatitis c is spread when drug users share needles. there is a lot more inforttion ab kidney transplants on georgetown hospital's website. we have posted a link at nbcwashington.com. >> what a new life for him, though, now. saved his life truly. >> it certainly did. gave him a whole new opportunity. >> absolutely. >> so, those were some crazy storms that came through. >> they were some crazystorms. looking at my radar, you have severe thunderstorms. next thing you know, woosh, thet brou in some winds that were most likely a micro burst that of thed in the portion college park area. but it moved on out of here and you get, you know, whe stuff like that moves out, you get some nice pretty stuff and you now what i'

elliott stevens has all the proof he needs and he wants to spread the wordpthat thisn works.ul ck one someone had given me and that's a second chance at life. >> it's sad that the heroin epidemic and all the overdose debts there, crea deaths there, andepatitis c is a disease spread by drug abuse. >>> let's switch our attention to the weather this morning, yesterday a few rn drops, that little as dance? are you excited about the weather? >> yes, i eited about the weather, let's talk about it. we have aix of sun and clouds out there, a few showers here and there, isolated at best. but that's all you'll get. and yidterday it think there was going to be an opportunity. >> you didn't say cancel everything, just have a plan b. >> i said i literally said on air to maybe cancel your plans and yesterday it turned out just fine. you win some and youe l some, but i believe we have a better grasp on the weather today. out there right now, nice and mild. 60s and 70s right now. and the humidity is not that bad out there this morning. we have a few sprinkles possible as you make your way ou

elliott stevens has all the proof he need and h wants to spread the word that this option works. >> i just feelfu gra to give back what someone had given me and that's a second chance at life. >> i want to be clear. the small study involved 20 people so there's going to be need to be more research done before this is a reality. a huge opportunity for all those people waiting for transplants. it's also very said that the heroin epidemic and all the overdose deaths tt are creating so many new organ donations. hepatitis "dr" is spread when drug users share needles. a lot more information about kidney transplants on the hospital's website and we posted a linko that at nbcwashington.m. >> encouraging for so many people. >> yeah. a lot of possibilities here. >> all right. let's get the latesthat weather alert mode we're still in. we're checking in with doug and amelia. is the worst of it bind us, guys? >> the worst is behind us, guys. sawhat come through 4:00, 4:30 and at 5:00 right o throughhe college park area and some incredible photos coming fro chopper 4 right now. just debris everywhe

. >> elliott stevens is talking about the kidney dialysis that kept him alive while he waited for a kidney he's a married father of two, active in his church for many years, a long career delivering packages for fedex.is when kidneys started to fail in his 50s, everything changed. with that dialysis schedule, he couldn't work. he couldn't travel. >> it just drained my body.t i couldo things with my daughters and go out with my wifeo dinner and things like that. >> but then about 15 months after he went on th transplant list, he got the late-night phone call he'd been hopin for. >> and it was georgetown hospital asking me that they said they found a match for me as far as a kidney, would i be interested in it. and me and my wife, we embraced, and we were thankful. >> but there was a catch, and a big one. the donor kidney was infected with hepatitis c. it's a vir that can slow destroy your liver. stevens had to make a quick choice, reject the offer and spend years waiting for another donor, or take the infected kidney and spend the next three months taking medication to cure the hepatitis c.

. >> reporter: this ctor's team managed elliott stevens successful kidney transpnt. wouldn't want to give it just anybody, for example, patients who don't do well on di dialys alysis, who have exceptionally long waits, they may be a candidate for the kidney. >> he already had hepatitis c, from a childhood blood transfusion, he said. now he has a new kidney and he's free from hep c. there are powerful new drugs available that can cure hepatitis c quickly and with few si effects and two, this new study followed people who volunteered to take the hepatitis c infected kidneys. ll of the tment, people in the study were free of the virus. dr. gilbert and the team at georgetown are hopeful this will help more people who need kidney transplants, but before they can do that, t they need results of this latest study. elliotte says has all he needs and he says this option works. t i j feel grateful to give back what someone had given me and that was aecond chance at life. >> there's a lot more information onney transplants o the wrc washington app. >>> let's turn yourour attent