Soldier's kidney tied up by Army

Soldier's kidney tied up by Army

Military blocks organ donation for mother

The Associated Press
Jun 3, 2007

A soldier from New Hampshire says the Army is standing in the way of lifesaving kidney donor surgery for his mother.

Army Spc. Frank Chapman, 27, based at Fort Sill, Okla., is a match to his mother, Patricia Chapman, who suffers from kidney disease and is on dialysis three days a week. They are scheduled for transplant surgery June 13 in Florida, where Patricia Chapman lives. Chapman and his wife are from Hanover.

Chapman, his wife and her two children are all packed up to move - he sought a compassionate reassignment from the Army so they could care for Patricia, who lives in Dunnellon, Fla., after the surgery. But the plans are in limbo after the family learned last month that Army medical officials are denying permission for the surgery, which they say could lead to medical problems for Chapman down the road.

"How would you tell your mom two weeks before the surgery that, 'Oops, I can't give you a kidney,' " Chapman told KSWO-TV in Lawton.

By the end of Friday, Chapman said "the cooperation is much better. I had a meeting with the head of the Reynolds Army Community Hospital today as well as a couple of fairly high-ranking officers within the hospital, and they're more than willing to help me."
He still plans to be in Florida by June 10 for the surgery.

Chapman said the denial is over a high blood pressure reading at a hospital, which he disputes, noting he has been cleared for surgery by doctors at Reynolds Army Community Hospital at Fort Sill and Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where the surgery is scheduled.

Chapman's wife, Tiffany, said the high reading is because her husband gets nervous on doctor visits and that readings on a home meter all have been in a healthy range.

Tiffany Chapman said Friday that when they learned the surgery might be possible, they sought help and permission from Army medical officials to make sure everything was in order. They say they followed instructions, only to find out at the last minute that they needed approval from the surgeon general in the U.S. Army Medical Department.

"This thing totally blows our mind," said Tiffany Chapman, who grew up in Hanover and is a graduate of Hanover High School. Frank Chapman grew up in Norwich, Vt., and also graduated from Hanover High. The Chapmans lived in Hanover before moving to Oklahoma last July.

"He's trying to do the honorable thing, which is what the military is preaching all the time," said Tiffany Chapman.

"He is the healthiest man I know," she added.

The timing is urgent because Patricia Chapman, 54, has been on dialysis for three years and her health is deteriorating, said Patience Marsh, Frank's sister.

"If she doesn't get the transplant, it's just like a ticking time bomb. Basically, dialysis kills you over time and you can't live for too long," said Marsh, who lives in Lisbon, N.H.

"It needs to happen now or it's not going to happen," Marsh said.

A change could be in the works.

After the Chapmans disputed the decision, The Army surgeon general's office agreed to a reconsider their opinion following a 24-hour period of blood pressure monitoring. Tiffany Chapman said Friday the monitor is being shipped to them in Fort Sill.

"The Army will support this request if it is determined it is unlikely to negatively impact his future health," Army medical spokeswoman Cynthia Vaughan said in a statement. "A decision will be made as soon as possible."

The family also is getting help from Rep. Paul Hodes, a Democrat from New Hampshire, whose district includes the Hanover-Lebanon area.

"The short story behind the long story is that Frank got some misinformation from some folks in the Army about what he needed to do," Hodes said.

"We're working to expedite things from the Army's end so that Frank can do what he needs to do to get his kidney to his mom," he said.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070603/REPOSITORY/706030377