DAPHNE — Steve Day is ready to donate his kidney to his son, John.

But he won’t be alone.

His wife, Gina, who is a nurse, will also be there to help her family heal.

Their daughter, Jen, is coming to Atlanta from California to spend the week.

And the entire family knows that the thoughts and prayers of local folks — as well as friends across the country — will also be with them, in spirit.

The Daphne couple left town Tuesday for a transplant operation at Emory University that is expected to dramatically improve their son’s health. It will take place Friday, Day said.

“My surgery is scheduled for 8 a.m., while John’s surgery will start a little while after mine,” he said.

Day, 61, was found to be a “perfect match” for his 31-year-old son.

Doctors believe that John’s kidney problems may have started after he had strep throat at age 11.

After having strep throat again last year, it was determined that his kidney function was down to 20 percent.

He is now in renal failure and needs a kidney transplant to avoid being put on dialysis, Day said.

Getting to this point of being a prospective organ donor has sometimes been difficult, both physically and psychologically, Day said.

For example, he had 16 vials of blood drawn last week. That’s so cross-matching can be done to determine if he has recently picked up an illness such as the West Nile virus, Day said.

Both father and son will have had a pre-op physical before the surgery.

But facing major surgery is new to Day, so there are some moments of uncertainty, he said.

“I am sure that things will come out fine and there is no reason to worry,” Day wrote in an e-mail update to friends and family members.

“I know God, and your prayers, are behind the doctors and me and I know things will happen according to His plan.”

Instead of dwelling on that, Day said he prefers to envision how healthy John will soon be — thanks to his transplanted kidney.

Keeping busy also helps, he said with a chuckle.

“John is doing pretty well. He was able to come down for a weekend of sailboating, so that was really enjoyable for us,” Day said.

Time is still of the essence, he added.

“He’s now at the point that they would put him on dialysis if he weren’t on the verge of having a transplant,” Day said.

“Looking at him, though, you’d never know that he’s sick. In fact, when he walked in at Emory, they thought he was the kidney donor, not the recipient,” he said. “So all in all, I would say this trip — and transplant — is coming at just the right time, just as God intended it,” Day said.

Encouragement has also come to him electronically, in e-mails from friends and former coworkers across the country, he said.

His wife agrees that the support has been overwhelming.

“I just can’t believe the outpouring of love we’ve had; It just really touches your heart,” she said.

Neighbors have been especially encouraging and are helping out in their absence, Gina Day said.

“They have told us that everything will be taken care of, that we don’t need to worry about a thing while we’re gone; to just get well and come back home,” she said.

“That’s just another example of God’s loving arms wrapping around us.”