Many in Panola County woke last Wednesday to news that made this year’s holiday gatherings memorable and special – Thanksgiving tidings that Daniel Cole had received the long-awaited call that a suitable organ had been harvested and his liver transplant had started early that morning.

Cole is the director of the county’s Emergency Operations Management office, and has been waiting for a liver transplant since May 2021. His condition worsened this spring, so much that family and friends worried his health would fall below benchmarks that allowed him to remain eligible for a transplant.

“It has been a roller coaster since this whole thing started, but I’m so thankful for all the people that have called and prayed and have kept me and my family in their hearts,” Cole said. “It’s been overwhelming and meant so much.”

Few public officials, if any, in Panola County are more well-known or well-liked by the general public. The county native was reared here and his father served as superintendent of education. He has been in public service since his college days and military service, and the nature of his job creates public interaction with a wide swarth of the county’s population.

The surgery was a complete success by all accounts, and Cole spent only a few hours in an intensive care unit at the University of Alabama at Birmingham before being moved to a transplant floor where he has continued to improve and rehabilitate.

Cole said Tuesday he expects to stay in a hotel near the hospital for a few weeks while his transplant team monitors his condition and anti-rejection medications, and hopes to return home to begin his long-term rehab.

The lifesaving call came last Tuesday evening when his case manager informed him of a potential liver and asked him to be at the hospital soon as possible. Cole’s wife Christy had just gotten settled in a deer stand with their daughter when he called her with the good news.

The Coles were somewhat discouraged in the days before the call came because of several recent near-misses. The couple had been called to Birmingham five times in recent weeks, including the Friday before, only to be told a harvested organ did not meet medical transplant standards.

“So far everything has worked out just fine, the team is thrilled with the results and the enzyme issues started to clear up right after the transplant they said,” Cole reported.

Only those closest to the family knew how dire Cole’s health had become since the summer, and fewer still knew the Board of Supervisors had taken an unusual step in hopes of preserving his level of health.

In a private meeting in October, supervisors all but ordered Cole to stay away from his office and allow his assistants to perform on the ground work. When word reached the supervisors that Cole was still showing up for different tasks, they asked for the keys to his county-provided truck in an effort to curb his daily activities.

“I respected their decision and ultimately it was the right decision, but I knew I had to keep pushing myself,” Cole recounted. “I knew that when a person gets bed bound they come off the transplant list and I was determined to keep going for my family.”

“I know why the board did what they did and I’m thankful for them and all the support they’ve given my family. I have a small army of folks working on me here and I have a new lease on life,” he said. “I just want everybody at home that prayed for my family and supported us to know how thankful we are.”