An incredible gift: the donation of a kidney

[okarol]

An incredible gift: the donation of a kidney

Methodist minister prepares to donate kidney to one of her congregants.

Published: March 23, 2009
Melody Kinser
mkinser@mechlocal.com

“God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.“—William Cowper (1731-1800)

“A journey of grace” is how the Rev. Lyn Harding describes the path she is on with Wayne Traylor.

Next Wednesday, she will donate a kidney to him.

“Getting a kidney is a great gift,“ said Wayne, a member of the Shady Grove United Methodist Church, where Lyn serves as minister of Mission and Outreach. “That’s what all dialysis patients would like to get.“

Lyn laughed when she said the procedure would be performed on April Fool’s Day, with Wayne receiving her left kidney.

With the countdown under way, the two took time last Thursday to talk about the upcoming kidney transplant.

“I had diabetes and high blood pressure,“ Wayne said. Now 71, he said he “developed diabetes when I was 40 years old. I didn’t take care of myself. When you’ve got diabetes, you’ve always got it.“

He remembers when he was diagnosed. “I had been on a trip to Europe—I was tired, I had to urinate frequently and I was thirsty. I weighed up to 221; my weight now is 168.“

He has been undergoing dialysis, which means he must keep his weight under control. “My wife (Faye) sees to that.“

Wayne learned about a year ago that he would need a transplant. “I kept retaining fluids; I knew something was wrong—my ankles were swelling. I am a singer and I developed a wheezing.“

Dr. Trudy Rickman told him he was “ ‘going to be on dialysis in a week’ and within a week I was.“ He has been on dialysis “about a year now.“

Dr. Jerry Keightley, Wayne’s nephrologist, has him undergoing peritoneal dialysis (Wikipedia defines as “a sterile solution containing minerals and glucose is run through a tube into the peritoneal cavity, the abdominal body cavity around the intestine, where the peritoneal membrane acts as a semipermeable membrane. The dialysate is left there for a period of time to remove waste products and water, and then it is drained out through the tube and discarded”) every day. That process “clears, cleans your system.“

When he first started dialysis, Wayne went through hemodialysis, which, according to Wikipedia, “the patient’s blood is pumped through the blood compartment of a dialyzer, exposing it to a semipermeable membrane. The cleansed blood is then returned via the circuit back to the body.“

With hemodialysis, he went three times a week for three hours; with peritoneal, he undergoes dialysis while sleeping.

Throughout the dialysis, Wayne knew he “wanted a transplant,“ which led to him undergoing “grueling” testing.

“Dialysis is a nice Band-Aid, but it’s a temporary fix,“ Lyn said.

Before Lyn stepped into the picture, a fellow member of the church, Herb Fernow, offered to donate his kidney. Unfortunately, he was not a suitable donor, because he has what is termed a “horseshoe kidney,“ meaning he has too many blood vessels.

“Herb was really disappointed when he couldn’t donate his kidney,“ Wayne said. They had planned to undergo the transplant the first of December “to be well for Christmas.“

When they learned Herb’s kidney could not be used in the transplant process, Lyn started testing the Monday of Thanksgiving week. “I have Type O blood,“ she said. “I have to have Type O,“ Wayne interjected.

Lyn said she decided to go get tested after being out to dinner one night with her husband Roy and the Traylors. “My husband was born with only kidney,“ she said, which prompted her to go in for the blood work.

During the first visit, “they take your blood, then they mix our bloods to make sure they don’t reject. I got the phone call Christmas Eve ‘You are a match.‘ I told my husband and he looked like he had been hit—‘Wow, this is really serious,‘ “ she recalled him saying.

“We talked about it, prayed about it. If this is what God wants me to do, then all the doors would have been passed and opened—and here we are.“

As she prepared to become Wayne’s donor, Lyn underwent a series of testing, including measuring creatin levels and kidney functions and having x-rays and several heart-related procedures.

She said she had to have “really extensive testing to make sure I’m healthy.“

Wayne also had to undergo some testing. He had to see a cardiologist “to make sure I would bear the operation.“ He passed, saying, “Everything is fine.“

They will go to the hospital next Monday for about four hours of pre-op (preoperative), returning around noon on Tuesday to be admitted. Wednesday’s surgery could run anywhere from four to six hours to six to eight hours.

“They won’t remove his kidneys,“ Lynn said, “just connect the vessels [to mine].“

Surgeons choose the left kidney in a donor situation because there is “more pipe to work with,“ Lyn said.

In the role of donor Lyn will not be financially responsible for any of the costs associated with the transplant. “All of Lyn’s medical expenses are taken care of by my insurance,“ Wayne said.

The main side effect for a donor, Lyn said, is fatigue. What keeps her going right now is knowing that, because of her donation, “I get the benefit of watching Wayne watch his grandson grow up.“ Traylor Fabricant was born to Wayne’s daughter Tracy and her husband Evan on Jan. 5.

Lyn said her 5-year-old son Noah will learn about the transplant the Saturday night before the transplant when Wayne and his family come over for dinner. She said they will tell him that “God gives us two kidneys and Mr. Wayne needs one—Mommy’s going to give him one. I’ll be gone four sleeps and lots of people will be watching him.“ She did say she and Roy were “undecided about him (Noah) coming to the hospital.“

She also said she has “a great support system at home. I have two stepchildren and this church has been amazing. It shows what it means to be the body of Christ—we’re a family.“

“Since I’ve been working on this transplant,“ Wayne said, “I’ve learned so many people only have one kidney,“ including several members of his church.

His name had already been included on the list for UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing), which would mean he would be in line to get a cadaver kidney. Even though he has a donor and date for the transplant established, Wayne said his name will remain on the list. “I’m 71 years old and I’m the oldest one on the list—I don’t want to wait too long.“

“My wife was going to do what they call a proxy donation,“ said Wayne, meaning she would donate a kidney that would be acceptable for someone else on the list and make him eligible as soon as a match appeared.

“If you really want to,“ Lyn said, “there are living donations. It’s good to know how organs are donated.“

Wayne has been attending the Shady Grove United Methodist Church for 25 years, while Lyn has been there five years. Coincidentally, Wayne served on the interview committee “that hired me,“ Lyn said.

The transplant will take place at the Forest Campus of Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond.

“I’m as excited as I can be, not the least big apprehensive,“ Wayne said. “I wish he’d quit calling me his hero though,“ a laughing Lyn said.

One certainty for both is “I know the Lord will take care of me.“

Wayne was to learn on Tuesday, March 24, whether they “were definitely doing it on the first [of April].“

A formal announcement to the congregation of their church is scheduled for Sunday, March 29.

As Lyn and Roy look toward the day she gives an incredible gift to Wayne, she simply says, “It’s the right thing to do.“

http://www.mechlocal.com/index.php/news/article/an_incredible_gift_the_donation_of_a_kidney/