Gift of Life: Three stories of how donated organs can save, and change, someone'

NEW: Gift of Life: Three stories of how donated organs can save, and change, someone’s life

Saturday, July 30, 2011 12:24 PM EDT

By JEREMY H. DICKMAN
Sun News Editor

A hero is defined as a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. That definition fits perfectly with organ donors.

Had it not been for organ donors, Kasey Ehlert, like thousand of people in the United Sates, would not be alive today.

Ehlert, 36, of Crystal, received a heart transplant in November 2000. Born with no left ventricle, Ehlert had three open heart surgeries, one heart operation and 60-plus procedures before receiving the heart transplant.

“I was on my deathbed,” Ehlert said. “The doctors had prepared me to go home and say my goodbyes to my family and friends.”

Nearing 11 years since his transplant, Ehlert said he is doing great and has showed no signs of rejection.

“I’m followed by University of Michigan doctors yearly to test for rejections and continue to take medications daily,” Ehlert said. “Doctors have said I am the poster child for organ donation.”

With his transplant completed and since he is doing so well, Ehlert said he has been able to work many more hours at International Automotive Components in Alma.

“Last year I worked over 1,000 overtime hours,” he said. “I live a normal life now.”

In a twist of fate, Ehlert was able to discover the name of the person who donated the heart to him. That turned out to be 18-year-old Amber Williams who died in an automobile accident.

“In the summer of 2008 I met the parents (Kathy and Larry Williams) of Amber. It’s an overwhelming experience to sit and talk to the family who saved your life.”

Currently 110,000 people, including 1,785 children, in the United States who are waiting for an organ donation, said Joanne Dupuis, registered nurse and cardiac transplant coordinator for Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

Dupuis said 25 percent of those waiting for a donation will die before finding a match.

“Part of that reason is people may have decided in their own mind they want to be a donor, but don’t communicate that wish to their family members,” she said.

Waiting for a transplant

For another mid-Michigan resident, the wait is continuing.

Ithaca resident Johnny Boyer, 47, is in renal failure and undergoes dialysis three times a week at Great Lakes Renal Network in Alma, his wife Beverly Boyer said. Boyer will have been on the St. Mary’s Transplant Center list for three years in October waiting for a kidney transplant.

“He’s in Stage 1 Renal Failure, which means his kidneys no longer function on their own,” Beverly Boyer said of her husband’s condition, which was caused from diabetes.

The father of four children, including two younger kids, ages 12 and 7, Boyer has been on dialysis for two years.

“It’s like clockwork, he doesn’t miss it for anything,” Beverly Boyer said of the dialysis.

Without a kidney transplant, Johnny Boyer is likely facing a life expectancy of two to seven more years, his wife said. A transplant could give him a range of 25 to 30 more years and also reduce his fatigue and high blood pressure.

“I would love to have my husband another 30 years versus five years,” Beverly Boyer said breaking into tears.

Becoming an organ donor, which is a quick and easy process, is all about saving lives.

“To give somebody an opportunity to live who may not have that chance without a donor,” Beverly Boyer said.

Anyone who wants to see if they are a match for Boyer can call 616-685-6222, choose option 3 and answer a few questions, such as name and blood type.

A family’s story

Mt. Pleasant resident Sherrie Anderson had two tragic meetings with organ donations – only 16 months apart.

Anderson’s brother died July 15, 2004, at 29 years old, while her mother died at age 69 from a heart attack in March 2003. Both were seemingly in good health.

Anderson’s brother had just worked on his van in preparation for a trip when he went inside complaining of a bad headache. The next thing they knew he was being helicoptered to two different hospitals. He died twice en route to the hospitals, but was brought back to life each time. The brother would later die at a Kalamazoo hospital.

“On my way to the hospital I was in the mindset that when I got there he would be OK,” Anderson said of her brother. “When I got to the hospital, the doctors said they were waiting for test results to see if there was any brain activity.”

Her brother had suffered a brain aneurysm.

“The medical team asked right away about organ donation,” Anderson said.

The family made the decision to donate her brother’s organs. Anderson said her brother’s organs went to five different people.

“That right there is five people who had their lives either saved or extended because of donations,” she said.

One of the most interesting stories Anderson told is that her brother’s intestines went to a young girl who had spent her entire life eating through a feeding tube.

“She received his intestines and recovered beautifully,” Anderson said. “She went on to get married and became the first woman in Michigan, if not in the country, to survive an intestine transplant and deliver a full-term baby.”

A father of six received Anderson’s brother’s heart.

“That man was at his death’s door and now he is doing great and can play with his kids,” she said.

Becoming an organ donor

By becoming an organ donor, Anderson said “you can turn your sorrow into somebody else’s happiness.”

Although numbers of organ donor registrations have increased 25 percent from June 2010 to the same month this year, Michigan still ranks 45th across the nation in terms of people registered, Dupuis said.

A total of 36,265 people joined the Registry last month, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said in a press release. This number was up from the 28,104 signed up in June 2010.

The rise in registration comes on the heels of Johnson’s implementation of a new policy in April requiring employees at branch offices, time permitting, to ask customers if they want to sign up to become an organ donor.

“For years, Michigan has ranked nearly last among states in organ donor registration,” Johnson said. “In cooperation with Gift of Life Michigan, the Michigan Eye-Bank and our other partners, we are doing everything we can to turn the numbers around. The more people who are registered as willing to donate, the more lives will be ultimately saved.”

The Michigan Organ Donor Registry has about 2.2 million residents enrolled, less than one-third of the state’s adult population. Each organ donor has the potential to save eight lives and enhance the lives of as many as 50 patients.

Organs are also not the only thing that can be donated.

“You can also donate tissues like your corneas and help a blind person see or your skin for someone severely burned,” Dupuis said. “It doesn’t make a person look any different for the funeral or delay the funeral process. It’s amazing. It’s limitless the things they can use.”

To become an organ donor go to www.giftoflifemichigan.org or www.Michigan.gov/sos.

URL: http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2011/07/30/life/doc4e306f3df12ef657437407.prt