Katrina angel awaits kidney transplant05:32 PM CST on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Lucy Bustamante / Eyewitness News
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At 52, Drue Leblanc wanted to be in a much different place in her life. She's a kidney dialysis patient with little patience for the process.
“Today, I don't feel well,” she said. “I'm really overloaded with fluid. “I ate well over the weekend, but what the heck, you can't be good always.”
Drue will be the first to admit it's that very attitude that keeps her here, and off of the transplant list.
“I've had a drug history before,” she admits, so before she can get a kidney, Drue has to prove her drug history is exactly that, history.
But dig into her most recent chapters of life, and the story is all about how she bettered her spirit by saving their lives.
It all started a day after Katrina, when Drue and her boyfriend, Doug Bienvenue, couldn't take sitting at home in Breaux Bridge watching the suffering on television. So despite their very modest income, Doug fueled up their airboat and truck and headed to New Orleans to rescue people despite her failing kidneys, her 12 medications, and her doctor's orders. Drue made sure she tagged along.
“We felt like it was a calling. We both had made up our minds to go,” said Bienvenue. “We didn't really think about it, we acted on it, not realizing the real risk.”
“You think you have it bad, and then when you look at things around you there's always someone else that has it so much worse than you,” said Drue.
For three days, they rescued people from their flooded homes between South Carrollton and Claiborne Avenues.
“Just the expression on their faces when you drive up to get them, it made it all worth it” said Drue. “One little baby had asthma, and that's one number and name I regret not getting.”
Every night they would drive back to Breaux Bridge so Drue could take her 12 pills and get some sleep.
“We'd drive into New Orleans about 9 a.m. and go until 11 p.m. and get up and do it all over again,” said Drue.
Three days, one couple, hundreds of rescues.
“I would say it was close to 1,100 people,” said Drue.
A year and a half later, their efforts won them a heroism award from the city in December of 2006.
But what the families didn't know is that a month after Katrina, Drue's kidneys almost completely gave out and she had to start dialysis for the first time in 23 years of kidney disease.
“Now I'm on like 21 pills,” she said. “At least 3 years, I've withdrawn from life. I've really contained myself to staying home.”
“It has changed my life, but when you love someone, you're willing to sacrifice,” said Bienvenue. “You do what you gotta do and you're always on their level; meaning when I'm there for her it's like second nature to me. I don't think about it.”
Drue wouldn't take back one day of the work she did, despite what her days are like now.
“If this is how he wants me to live, then I'll do it - but I prefer a better quality of life,” said Drue.
Many of the families she and Doug saved are doing well, like the Nathans.
“If Doug and Drue had not come, who would've came?” asked Ann Nathan. “We were hanging out that window, yelling with a white t-shirt. Nothing helped. We had a flashlight, but nothing helped. We were just there.”
This is why it breaks their hearts to know that Drue's condition has worsened.
“They was like angels coming, helping other people cause they didn't have to get off their sofa to come and help other people,” said Carol Terrence.
They hope the donors who step up will have a matching kidney.
“She deserves it, she deserves it,” said Nathan. “Watching her help not only us, but other people get into the boat.”
"I think she deserves it, the mere fact that she was heroic enough to come out with Doug and help people,” said Nathan. “I certainly think she needs it, hopefully donate it very soon.”
Even her doctor agrees that the experience weakened her body, but it strengthened her soul.
“That has changed the way she thought about life, change how she thought about people and changed herself,” said Dr. Maximo Lamarche. “She's a very sick young lady but very remarkable in what she had done.”
But whether Drue gets better is more in her hands than anyone else's. “It's my fault,” she said, as she proves to doctors and others that her life is also worthy of saving.
Drue Leblanc's doctor says she is a few weeks into the program and doing well. If she passes all drug tests she will be eligible for transplant as early as December. But first there needs to be a dedicated donor, sometimes it can take years if the blood types don't match.
(Drue Leblanc will be on a kidney transplant list as soon as she finishes the evaluation process and is found "eligible". If you would like to donate money or to put your name on the list for match testing, contact Trent Angers of Acadian Publishing at 337-235-8851 ext. 106
If you are interested in getting tested to be a part of the donor list for Drue or for the 1600 people in Louisiana, alone, who need kidneys; call the following locations closest to you.)
http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl111808mlkidney.1c7bfd7d9.html.....
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