Smith Goes Distance 3 Months After Donating Kidney (Yay Patrice!)

Smith Goes Distance 3 Months After Donating Kidney (Yay Patrice!)

By Aaron Dorksen
The Daily Record

April 26, 2007

There were 23,869 runners who entered the 111th Boston marathon held April 16, all with their unique stories.

However, it would have been hard to find anyone to root for more than Wooster's Patrice Smith.

Smith, 44, completed her third Boston Marathon exactly three months to the day that she had underwent surgery to donate her left kidney to a young woman she had learned about on the Internet.

"I was motivated to run to honor Jenna," said Smith, of 21-year-old transplant recipient Jenna Franks of California. "She's doing great and that's the best part."

Smith's surgeon permitted her to begin light running just two weeks after the surgery. She quickly regained her stamina and completed the 26.2-mile Boston Marathon in 3 hours, 40 minutes, 34 seconds.

Completing a marathon is remarkable for anyone, much less someone who had a kidney removed just three months earlier.

Smith attributes her high fitness level to making it possible, along with the motivation of running in the world's most prestigious marathon.

In addition to running marathons, she's also a competitive swimmer.

"It's the only marathon you have to qualify for and the oldest marathon there is," said Smith, who completed her eighth marathon overall. "As a marathon runner, you've always got the goal in the back of your mind that you want to qualify for Boston.

"Even if you don't go there every year, it's nice to know you have the qualifying time to do it."

Smith's path to donate the kidney to Franks demonstrated the best in what people are capable of. The College of Wooster's administrative coordinator for communications and theater, Smith's story was featured in The Daily Record on Feb. 12 in an article written by June Chandler-White.

A wife and mother of four children, Smith learned last year of an area man who needed a kidney transplant and felt a calling to see if she could be a match.

After talking with her husband, Jeff, and family, Smith decided to become a kidney donor.

Smith was initially told she'd be a suitable donor to David Sherrill, but a change in his condition later made him incompatible. The two, who didn't know each beforehand but became friends, learned of the news just three days before the scheduled surgeries.

Devastated about what had happened and left with many questions, Smith was referred by the transplant coordinator to an online site for donors.

A woman named Karol helped answer her questions. Smith later happened upon the online story of Franks, a young woman who needed a kidney.

After sending an e-mail about Jenna to Karol, Smith was astonished to learn who Jenna was. Karol had never mentioned previously that her daughter Jenna was on a kidney transplant waiting list.

The two were determined to match and on Jan. 16, Smith underwent a 3 1/2-hour surgery. By the time she awoke her left kidney was working in Jenna's body.

Pam Tegtmeier, Smith's best friend for two decades and training partner, also ran the Boston Marathon this month with Smith.

"Our plan was to run it together the whole way, but that didn't happen," said Tegtmeier, who was still hampered by back and leg strains suffered in a winter fall on the ice. She finished in 4:08.56. "I was just glad just to finish with the injuries I had, but Patrice ran really strong. She was in such great physical condition before the surgery that I think that's what made it possible for her to recover so quickly. We did an 18-mile run the day before she flew to California.

"Patrice is one of a kind, just an amazing person. She's the kind of person who'd give you the shirt off her back, or even give a kidney. It was something she wanted to do, she researched it and she's just extremely happy that Jenna's doing well."

And there's no doubt Jenna will always be among Smith's biggest fans.

URL http://www.iopo.org/news_detail.asp?ID=3937