Fort Worth couple ties knot in hospital, days after kidney transplant

Quite simply, Tony Cross was tired of waiting.

He’d waited five years after being put on dialysis for a kidney transplant. He’d waited years for the love of his life.

So, after receiving the transplant on March 7, he figured, why wait any more? So he asked his fiancee, Cynthia McIntosh, if they could move up their wedding from the original March 27 date.

She, who had also been waiting for the love of her life — who now had a new lease on life — responded with an enthusiastic “Yes!” On March 11, they were married in the chapel at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, with his caregivers, transplant surgeon and Cynthia’s granddaughter Marlonda McIntosh in attendance as maid of honor.

“I’m laying up there in the hospital and decided I just didn’t want to wait any longer, even if it was just a few weeks,” Tony, 61, said. “Then, it took on a life of its own. We were just gonna have a judge come by, but the hospital staff found out, and let me tell you they were fantastic — they knocked it out of the park.”

Caregivers provided a cake, flowers, decorations and even sparkling wine — non-alcoholic, of course — with which to toast the new couple.

“They were just planning to have the chaplain marry them in their hospital room, but we told them, ‘No Way! We are going to make it special!’” said Robyn Dye, administrator of the hospital’s kidney transplant program.

Tony and Cynthia, of Watauga, have known each other for more than a quarter century. They even dated off and on before getting serious the past couple of years.

Cynthia, 70, was a resident at an apartment where he was a security guard. Over time, however, they drifted apart, each got married and their lives went in a different direction.

Then, one day about three years fate got involved.

“My daughter saw him in a park and said, ‘There’s Tony. I’m gonna give him Momma’s number,’” Cynthia recalled.

They’ve been inseparable ever since.

Heart scare, then surgery

Even as he was waiting for a transplant, Tony had another frightening experience. He had to undergo open heart surgery in mid-2024.

Fortunately, Tony said, it sounded worse than it actually was.

“When he got in there, he found all he had to do was move an artery back in place,” he said, referring to the doctor. “It wasn’t as bad as it could have been.”

Cynthia, however, still fights back tears at the memory.

“I was afraid. Then he woke up,” she said. “Then, his kidney, I was nervous, but I didn’t want him to know I was nervous.”

Tony then chimed in with a smile, “She was sitting there in tears. She’s a Godsend for me. All the operations, she was there.”

Waiting for the transplant call

“Dialysis is not something you get used to as much as you tolerate to live,” Tony said. “I wasn’t expecting to get that call that day.”

The wait was indeed taking a toll on Tony. For one thing his physical condition forced him to be reduced to part-time work and he went on disability. Even now it will be at least a year before going back to work.

But, he smiles and says, “The kidneys definitely work.”

Cynthia jokes now that she was as anxious as him to get to the hospital once they got the call.

“I was dressed before he was. I was so excited,” she said.

A former certified nurses assistant, she cares for him at home as he recovers. She also drives him to the clinic twice a week for post-surgery checkups.

Tony’s kidney came from a deceased donor he did not know.

“You can save someone’s life, and I am so appreciative to whomever I got this kidney from,” he said. “I really thank God for this opportunity and receiving this gift, because I wasn’t sure how long it would be.”

What’s ahead following surgery

Tony is excited about getting back to doing several things he loves, including riding and caring for his two horses. He got his first horse at age 5 and has been in love with them ever since.

He’s also a member of the Circle L 5 Riding Club, Fort Worth’s first all-black riding club which upholds the legacy of black cowboys.

“I’m teaching her how to handle horses and ride,” he said.

He’s also a ninth degree black belt in martial arts. While he no longer competes, he is still involved as an official.

“In fact, I was supposed to be going to Bridgeport for a tournament before I got the call for the transplant,” he said, adding with a laugh, “Needless to say, they had to find someone else — and they completely understood.”

But mainly, he and Cynthia are looking forward to many years of healthy living together.

“We haven’t looked that far into the future, but we are definitely excited about it,” he said. “Whatever God has in store, that’s up to him. I’m just glad he decided to keep me around here a little longer.”

This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 4:10 PM.