Kidney donor shares story in hopes of inspiring others

[okarol]

Kidney donor shares story in hopes of inspiring others
By GEORGE BEAUBIEN

To a casual observer, 48-year-old Olivia Corsi and her brother, Domenic Lancellotta, 37, appear to be quite healthy. Their appearance is remarkable considering what they both experienced less than a month ago.

Their story begins in late December of 2008. Lancellotta, a field investigator for the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families, had been complaining of feeling tired all the time, which he attributed to being overworked and the stress of the upcoming holidays. When his condition worsened to include flu-like symptoms, his mother told him that he "didn't look well at all" and should seek medical attention. He took her advice and made an appointment to see a doctor right after the first of the year.

"The doctor told him to go to a hospital for complete testing," recalls his sister. So on Jan. 5, 2009, Corsi was in a hospital room at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital along with her brother, their mother, and Lancellotta's wife, Michelle, when the doctor delivered the news.

"He was diagnosed with acute kidney failure in both organs," said Corsi. "It came as a shock to all of us because he was always so healthy. There is no family history of kidney disease, he never smoked or drank, and he exercised regularly and always ate healthy."

Soon, Lancellotta begin receiving kidney dialysis treatments three times a week, each appointment a three-hour process. Believing that staying active was best for him, he continued working for DCYF during the process. In the interim, the search was on for a kidney donor.

"That begins with family members first," said Corsi, "because there's less of a chance of organ rejection." Corsi was one of seven family members who were tested as a potential donor. Ultimately, over the course of the next six months, Corsi became the prime candidate to offer the "gift of life" to her brother.

"I became the chosen one," Corsi said, lightheartedly. That, said Corsi, came as a surprise to her, because she had been a smoker for more than 25 years. "Despite that, the doctors told me that if I stopped smoking, I would be able to give my brother one of my kidneys."

A quality assurance lead adviser for Smithfield's Uvex by Sperian, manufacturers of eye and face protection, Corsi changed her lifestyle to help her stop smoking. Wanting to trade her bad habit for a healthy one, she began exercising, walked in place of smoking and began eating healthy food to prevent her from gaining weight.

"I was being driven by a purpose," said Corsi, and when things got tough, she put her faith to work believing that "God will see me through it," she said.

On July 20, Corsi was the first of the two siblings to undergo surgery at Rhode Island Hospital. It took the surgical team just 90 minutes to harvest one of her kidneys. Shortly after, Lancellotta entered the operating room with two diseased kidneys and left with a healthy one, courtesy of his older sister. Four days later, Corsi returned to her home just down the street from where her brother lives with his family. Lancellotta returned home a day later. Both are recovering from the ordeal. Corsi hopes to return to her job by October, and Lancellotta expects to return to his filed investigation work by early January.

Corsi says she believes faith followed her the day she returned home from her operation.

"Just after I got home, my sister, Barbara Hebert, noticed a butterfly hovering around me while I was outside. I went inside, came back out, and it began circling around me again. Barbara and I believe it was a message from God telling us everything was now going to be OK."

Lancellotta joined his sister on Friday, Aug. 14, to reflect on his illness, recovery, and the good fortune he had of having his sister willing, ready and able to donate a kidney.

"I was told that the average waiting time for a kidney donor can be anywhere from three to five years," said Lancellotta.

According to information posted on the National Kidney Foundation's Web site, "The success rates of transplant surgery have improved remarkably, but growing shortages exist in the supply of organs and tissues available for transplantation." Many Americans who need transplants cannot get them because of these shortages. The result is that some of these people die while waiting for that "gift of life."

According to a fact sheet on the foundation's Web site, in 2006 there were 17,092 kidney transplants, but the number of patients on the waiting list as of April 2007, the most recent date for posted information, numbered more than 70,000. And that is precisely why Corsi feels compelled to share her story. She hopes that others will be inspired about becoming a donor, despite the emotional mix that accompanies such an endeavor. She recalls times when she became scared, not for her self, but for her mother, brother and his family. With the help of her faith, family members, people at work and friends, she was able to overcome her fear.

"They meant so much to me. Their support helped carry me through my journey, which I now feel has been the best physical and emotional challenge of my life. I feel privileged and proud of myself for doing it."

Although Lancellotta feels there is nothing that can be said or done to repay his sister for her gift, it was important for him to demonstrate his gratitude. To her surprise, a furniture company pulled up to her home very recently to deliver a new Italian leather living room set.

"Olivia did something I'll be forever grateful for. She was courageous," said Lancellotta.

http://www.valleybreeze.com/Free/MAIN-Kidney-donor-clone2009-08-19T14-41-32