I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: News Articles => Topic started by: okarol on August 05, 2007, 04:32:43 PM
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Blue Valley mom donates kidney to daughter
By SARAH BENSON
The Kansas City Star
Aug. 3, 2007
Sonya Miller is feeling good.
She just donated a kidney to her daughter a few weeks ago, but she appears healthy, and is in little pain. Her 23-year-old son is probably hovering somewhere over Iraq in a helicopter, but she’s not worried. He’ll be home in September, after all.
So what’s her secret?
“You just have to have faith,” she says.
Sonya says the decision to give a kidney to her 21-year-old daughter Sara wasn’t hard. Sara, who has developmental disabilities, was recently diagnosed with end-stage renal disease. Her kidneys were functioning at a rate of 10 percent, which meant they weren’t flushing toxins from her body like they were supposed to.
At that point, there were three options: Start dialysis and join a two-year waiting list to get a new kidney, or find someone to give her one of theirs.
Sonya said dialysis wasn’t an option. Dialysis is painful and time-intensive, and she didn’t want Sara to go through it, not even for two years.
So Sonya submitted herself to a battery of tests to determine whether she was an eligible donor. To donate a kidney, you can’t have high blood pressure, diabetes or cancer. You have to have ultrasounds and blood work, and you have to fill out hospital forms the size of books.
Relatives usually make better matches than non-relatives.
Eventually, doctors at KU Medical Center approved Sonya as a donor.
“At least I know I’m healthy,” Sonya joked.
The successful operation took five hours.
“Right after surgery, I cried a lot because I couldn’t believe it was over and it went so well,” Sonya says. “The whole thing is incredible…it’s nothing short of a miracle.”
Now, Sonya encourages everyone she meets to become an organ donor. It’s simple — you just check the “yes” box next to “organ donor” when you get a driver’s license — and it can save lives, Sonya says.
“I can understand why someone would be reluctant, but you could help so many people,” Sonya says.
Today, Sonya and Sara appear healthy. Sara is recovering extraordinarily well. She has a lot more energy now, and doctors say her new kidney is working. Now she can eat watermelon, strawberries and salty foods that had to be cut out of her diet because of her kidney problems.
Just two weeks after the transplant, Sara was ready to play ball.
Sonya says when she took Sara to visit her Blue Valley Blue Streaks teammates at softball practice, she “went trotting out on the field like she was going to play.”
Sara enjoys the social side of sports. She’s been on the Blue Valley Blue Streaks team since she was 8, and plays almost every sport imaginable.
“She likes cheerleading best because she looks cute in the uniform,” Sonya says.
Sara just graduated from Blue Valley Northwest this year. At school, she was active in girl scouts, Key Club and Husky Hooligans spirit club. Her peers even voted her queen of the sweetheart dance.
Sonya says Sara has made many friends in the community who remember her by her infectious smile and her long, pretty hair.
And it’s clear from the look of the Miller living room that many of those friends are showing support — there are about a dozen foil balloons, several stuffed animals and gift bags lining the fireplace. A fat stack of get-well cards sits on the coffee table.
In the kitchen, Sonya has the TV tuned to the news, and war updates are on.
“We’ve been through the mill the last couple years and I’m ready to be over with all this,” Sonya admits.
The kidney transplant has been just one thing on her mind. Last year, her daughter Sibyl, 18, was diagnosed with a heart rhythm disorder. Then came Sara’s diagnosis.
Once her son Seth, a sergeant in the National Guard, comes home, Sonya and her family will feel a lot better.
Then, Sonya says, “we will all be whole again.”
| Blue Valley/Leawood reporter Sarah Benson can be reached at (816) 234-7727 or at sbenson@kcstar.com.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/neighborhood/leawood/story/216851.html
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Man, isnt it bad enough to have one child with health issues? This poor lady has 2 daughters with health issues and a son in Iraq. I cant wait until he comes home and their family can be complete again. :usaflag;