Jones

"This has been a very tough process for our family -- it feels like we have been waiting for so long for this day to come," Jones said by telephone from Wisconsin. "It's still hard to see someone I love in a hospital bed, but mainly, it is just a feeling of relief."

Son-Ja Jones underwent 4½ hours of surgery Tuesday night.

Dr. Hans Sollinger, the chief of transplant services at the University of Wisconsin Hospital, said there were no complications during the surgery.

"This one went very normally. There was nothing unusual at all."

Sollinger joked that the only stress on him came when he first met the 6-foot-2, 295-pound Jones.

"When I saw him, I felt a lot of pressure to get it right," he said. "But he's been wonderful throughout the process. He understands his wife's condition very well, and he has been very supportive throughout the process."

Detroit coach Bobby Ross said the news came as a relief to all the Lions.

"I almost felt like I was going through it with James and his family," Ross said. "When I talked to James this morning, he sounded like a totally different person. This has been really hard on him over the last month, and he sounded like he was on cloud nine."

Jones flew from Pontiac to Madison, Wis., on Tuesday morning after finding out that a donor had been found, arriving about the same time as his wife from their Iowa home.

The donor has not been identified. Sollinger said the donor's organs also were used in heart, lung and liver transplants, as well as another kidney transplant.

"We were lucky to have a young donor right here in Wisconsin. That made it faster, and gives the transplants a better chance," he said. "Right now, both the new kidney and pancreas are working fine, and Mrs. Jones is in stable condition."

The Lions will have a plane at Jones' disposal, ready to fly him to Washington for the playoff game, and he thinks he will make it.

"The doctor has already been trying to kick me out, because she's doing so well," he said. "As long as she's comfortable and everything continues to go well, I'll probably play. But if there is any doubt at all, I'll stay here."

Either way, Jones and his wife have won the admiration of their teammates.