Celebrating life on dialysisPublished: December 11, 2009
By WAYNE QUESENBERRY/Staff
Dec. 14 is an important day to Tammy V. Brown. On that date in 1997, the Wytheville resident was diagnosed with end stage renal disease and wasn’t expected to see a new year.
“The doctors at Roanoke Memorial told me I wouldn’t be going home,” Brown recalled Thursday morning from her residence. “I spent 48 days in the hospital and I did come home.”
Most of November 1997 saw her struggling with a severe case of bronchitis. Brown was waitressing at Robbie’s Diner on Main Street then and missed two weeks of work.
“I was deathly sick in bed,” she noted. “It went on for about a month and it got to where I couldn’t breathe and my ankles were terribly swollen. On Dec. 14, I drove myself to the emergency room.”
After being examined by doctors at Wythe County Community Hospital, Brown was told she was suffering from kidney failure. She was transported to Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
“Dr. Happel was in Radford then but the hospital here called him in,” Brown said. “He told my parents there was a 98 percent chance I wouldn’t be coming home. I spent that Christmas in the hospital.”
At Roanoke Memorial Hospital, she underwent a battery of tests and examinations. Brown began dialysis there before coming home.
“Dr. Jack Ballenger was my kidney doctor then and he still is,” she pointed out. “He comes to Wytheville now. He’s an amazing person. Dr, Happel’s office is here in Wytheville, too. He’s my heart doctor.”
Brown’s diagnosis brought her a greater awareness of the kidneys’ function and their importance. The ailment prompted Brown to learn all she could about renal failure and how to live with it.
“The doctors don’t know what caused my kidneys to shrink,” she stated. “They never pinpointed it. It could have been because I was severely anemic.”
Dialysis – a blood filtering process – helps Brown stay alive. It is administered to her three times every week at the Wythe Artificial Kidney Center now on Peppers Ferry Road.
Brown is among the five dialysis patients that have been together at the center for the last 12 years. Only one of them, Rocky McMillan, has been there longer than Brown.
“I’ve lost a lot of friends at the center since I’ve been on dialysis,” Brown commented. “You can’t help but get involved in each other’s lives when you spend as much time together as we do. Nobody really understands what the illness is like unless they have it, too. We’re all really close at the center.”
According to Brown, there are approximately 42 patients at the dialysis center. To meet the demand, the center is open six days a week with two shifts.
Based on her lab results at each session, Brown spends three hours and 15 minutes on the dialysis machine each of the three days. She also follows a strict diet and keeps watch of her phosphorus, sodium and potassium intake.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes at the center since I’ve been going,” Brown added. “The dialysis machines can do so much more now. They’re computerized. They’re amazing.”
At one time, Brown was on the list of candidates for a kidney transplant and hopes to be added back next year. She is a breast cancer survivor and takes an anti-cancer vaccine which temporarily exempts her as a transplant candidate.
“I’ll have a new kidney some day,” Brown prophesized, “if not here in the next world.”
Brown is an ambassador for the National Kidney Foundation of Virginia and participates in the foundation’s annual walk in Roanoke. Her job is to promote awareness of kidney disease and stress the importance of early detection.
“People here have been so supportive of my fundraising for the kidney walk,” Brown pointed out. “I’ve meet so many nice people through the foundation.”
A local celebrity of sorts, Brown is known for her weekly columns in the Wytheville Enterprise. She reports the happenings of the Roundtable Gang, a group of friends meeting daily for lunch at Virginia Heights in Wytheville.
“This is an amazing group of women,” Brown said. “They include former teachers and a variety of other professions.”
Writing has always been a major interest of Brown’s. She studied journalism and broadcasting at Radford University but never earned a degree.
“I wanted to be Phyllis George,” Brown noted. “She was a sportscaster and my idol. That’s probably the one regret in my life that I never finished college.”
Keeping a daily personal journal is prompting Brown to consider writing a book about her life and experiences with kidney disease. Her journal is private and will be left in her will.
Church and family are top priorities in Brown’s life. She is a member of Mt. Ephraim United Methodist Church.
One of 13 children of George and Jane Vaught of Wytheville, Brown spends lots of time with her family, including her many nieces and nephews – her pride and joy.
“We’re all really close,” she added. “There were nine boys and four girls. Three of my brothers are deceased.”
An avid fan of the Dallas Cowboys, Brown wants to see the team win the Super Bowl again.
According to Brown, her health ordeal profoundly affected her life. It strengthened her faith in God and gave her a deeper appreciation for her family and friends.
“It makes me live like I won’t be here tomorrow,” Brown stated. “None of us really have the assurance we’ll see another day but I think I’m more aware of it because of what happened to me. It’s given me a different perspective on my life. People tell me I’ve changed for the better.”
This Monday, Dec. 14, will mark another year of life for Brown. It will remind her that more opportunities are available.
“I always remember the date,” she said. “It’s a celebration. It has been a journey but look what I’ve got out of it. If I can make a difference in one person’s life then it’s all been worth it.”
Wayne Quesenberry can be reached at 228-6611 or wquesenberry@wythenews.com .
http://www.swvatoday.com/news/article/celebrating_life/6485/
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