A GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of travel and other incidentals for Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office deputies David Headrick and Jeff Diak can be found here.

DALTON, Ga. — Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office Deputy David Headrick had no idea so many of his friends knew how to cook. Turns out, all you need to do to get free food is to undergo a kidney transplant.

Chicken casserole. Homemade chicken and dumplings. Sweet potato casserole. Barbecue ribs are promised next week.

“We might have to try to milk this for a few weeks if this is the kind of food people are going to be bringing us,” Headrick laughed as he and Jeff Diak, the kidney donor and fellow deputy, relaxed and recovered Tuesday at Headrick’s home in Tunnel Hill. “We have seen so much support from the entire community. It’s really rocking and rolling here with people and we are eating good.”

Headrick, 44, and Diak, 29, went through the successful kidney transplant surgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, last Thursday. Both were released earlier this week and came back to Headrick’s home to recover. Both have been told to expect a recovery time of six weeks.

But Headrick acknowledges the recovery process is going to be harder and a little longer for Diak.

“I feel pretty good. I am still sore, but I don’t think I am half as sore as Jeff is,” Headrick said. “We are on the mend, and they say we are right on track for recovery.”

While Headrick’s body is welcoming his new kidney — hitting all the high-water marks doctors have been pleased to see, he said — Diak’s body is still recovering from the loss of a healthy organ. While his body will adjust and adapt to functioning with only one kidney, the process has already been a grueling one. And it will take a while before he is back to 100 percent.

“It’s been a little rough coming out of the surgery,” Diak said. “I can go from a standing position to a grandpa slumped over if I am not wearing the belt they gave me to hold everything into place.”

Headrick, a school resource officer at Westside Middle School, said he is looking forward to returning to work and has already seen plenty of positive effects from the surgery. No longer does he rely on dialysis (three-hour sessions three days a week), and he said he has seen improved circulation in his extremities.

“For the first time in the longest time, my fingers and toes are warm,” Headrick said. “They used to always be cold, and I remember waking up afterwards and I immediately noticed that I was warm again.”

Headrick said Diak’s kidney was functioning so well that doctors at Vanderbilt referred to it as a “super kidney.” There are other positive changes as well. A year ago, he began experiencing extreme sensitivity to cold in his teeth, so much so that he was forced to heat up all food. This week, he was able to eat ice cream again without experiencing excruciating pain.

“It’s been completely life-changing for me,” Headrick said. “Man, when I got out of surgery and Jeff came to my room, I couldn’t contain myself. That man stood beside me and saved my life. It was the most powerful moment in my life. I have seen so many improvements it is incredible, and it is tough seeing him go from perfectly healthy to being in pretty rough shape. I can never repay him.”

Diak said he was just happy to be able to help out a fellow deputy.

“It’s been pretty surreal,” Diak said. “I told David that, for me, going into all of this I was on edge because I was worried something could come up and not allow me to donate. I finally was sitting there staring at the ceiling as they were taking me to surgery, and it felt really amazing for me. I was finally able to accept all of the gratitude that people had given me, and I hadn’t done anything yet. It is insane to see all of the support we have gotten.”

Through social media and coverage by law-enforcement websites helping to spread their story, the two have become hits at home and across the internet. A GoFundMe page started by Headrick’s brother titled “Heroes in need!” has raised more than $5,400 of an $8,000 goal to help cover those costs. Frequent trips to Nashville for follow-up appointments will be needed.

“It has been amazing,” Headrick said of the community support. “My phone will not quit notifying me of something going on, and we couldn’t have asked for much more community support. The climate with police officers hasn’t been the best in some parts of the country, but I feel like we are overwhelmingly supported by the community. It is why I am so proud to live here.”

And a good order of baked beans to go with those barbecue ribs won’t hurt either.