Tonica -- It's a gift that's difficult for some to accept: a second chance at life given by someone in your own family. This week, WMBD is taking a deeper look at organ donation and transplant and the people who make them possible, including a father and son who share so much more than the same name.

Farmers across the state are facing one of the worst harvests of their careers.
But Paul Strack is just thankful to be back in his fields. The corn and combines represent a return to normalcy after undergoing a kidney transplant just 10 months ago.

Strack says, "I’m just fortunate that I can get out and go. Without my son doing it, it would have been a different option."

Strack has been a diabetic for most of his life. The disease took an especially hard toll on his kidneys. Then last year, time ran out. When doctor's told Strack he'd need a transplant, his two sons stepped forward to be tested. His oldest son, and farming partner,  Paul Junior was a match. But Strack had a hard time accepting such a gift from his own child.

Strack explains, "I didn't want to take that from my son. But he had no rest. He said that's it dad. I'm doing it."

Paul Junior says, "That was the best day of my life, when I got the call that said I’m a match and let's get set up for surgery."

In January, the two Paul’s were admitted for surgery at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria: a moment both terrifying and thrilling for father and son.

Strack remembers walking down the hall to the waiting room, "It was the longest walk I’d ever made. My legs wouldn't hardly move."

After a successful surgery and just a few months to recover, father and son are back to work. They're sharing Paul Junior's kidneys and sharing a new outlook on life.

Paul Junior says, "I told the nurse I wish I had a hundred kidneys to give. Just start giving em out!"

Strack explains,  "It just makes a new person out of you. It enlightens you to respect life a little more. To be grateful for everything you have."

You can find more information about organ donation here .
Join us Wednesday night at ten for a behind the scenes look at the people who make organ transplant possible as our series, A Second Chance at Life, continues.