Love match turns into kidney match many years later

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Love match turns into kidney match many years later

 Sunday, April 13, 2008   

Betty Satchell was barely out of high school when she watched her new husband's father die of kidney disease.

"Just watching him die so young, and knowing there was nothing they could do, that really left an impression on me," Satchell said. "I just thought that somebody should be able to do something."
   
Kidney dialysis was still in its infancy in the early 1960s; transplants were more successful in theory than in practice. It would be another dozen years before Satchell learned about organ donor cards, and she knew right away she would sign up.

Husband Morris Satchell didn't share her enthusiasm.

"I guess it was the early '70s that they came out with donor cards, and he said he didn't want me to do it. And I said, 'No -- I want to do this.' And then when I found out you could be a living donor, I thought, well, I really want to do that," said Betty Satchell.

She took her donor card to work and got two co-workers to sign it.

Little did she know the opportunity to share a kidney would happen so close to home.

Polycystic kidney disease -- the disease that killed Satchell's father-in-law -- is hereditary. Not only did Morris' father and grandmother have the disease, three cousins and his sister were diagnosed with it as well. It wasn't long before Morris showed symptoms.

"He started having backaches and they found a cyst on his kidney that was the size of a lemon, and it had started pressing on his spine," said Satchell.

Other complications of the disease, including high blood pressure, also began to appear. But PKD can take years to fully destroy the kidneys. In the meantime, Morris had a career as a military firefighter, raised a son, played golf and eventually retired to the Hebron.

"So we've know since 1970 then that he had polycystic kidney disease," said Satchell, "but it's only been in the last three or four years that it started really affecting his kidney function."

Ironically, it was Morris' new job after retiring from the military that helped guide his medical decisions. He began working as a driver for Shore Transit.

"A lot of my people were on dialysis, and I saw what kind of condition they were in after being on that machine for four hours. It's not good. And I said, absolutely not; I will not do that," he said.

But to avoid dialysis, Morris would need a kidney transplant, something his cousins had already done.

"One cousin had a transplant and lived for 12 years. Another cousin is on dialysis waiting for a kidney, a third cousin had a successful transplant five years ago. So watching all this, it has helped. Knowing that they went through it and came out doing well, I wasn't as apprehensive," he said.

When doctors finally decided Morris was a candidate for a kidney transplant, Betty was the first to volunteer.

"I even told them that if I was not a match I would donate to anybody and let them find one for him," said Betty.

The couple started a battery of tests in November and discovered they had the same blood type -- a good first indicator. Three weeks later, they found out they were a match.

"He came home and I said, 'Guess what, we're a match.' And he said, 'I knew that years ago,' " said Betty.

The surgery happened in February, despite Morris' lingering concerns.

"I was concerned for her. I mean, she was giving me a piece of her body. She's already given me everything else," he said.

The Satchells are now recovering at home in Hebron. It will take about three months of testing before the transplant is deemed a success, though they are well enough to tease each other about the situation.

"She tells me, 'My kidney's got a good attitude, I hope it rubs off on you,' " Morris said. The high school sweethearts will celebrate their 47th wedding anniversary in June, and they hope their story will convince others to become organ donors.

"I asked him, 'Do you think somebody up there knew, all those years ago, that we were a match?' " Betty said. "And he said, 'Yep, I do.' "

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080413/LIFESTYLE/804130326/1024