Shared kidney

[okarol]

Shared kidney

Posted: Tuesday, Jun 08, 2010 - 04:05:53 pm PDT

MOSES LAKE — Despite living 140 miles apart, Moses Lake kidney recipient Kim Beagley and her donor, Paul Burke, maintain a connection through fitness.

Burke, 61, a former Columbia Basin Herald publisher and now triathlete, took up exercise after the transplant, which was more than five years ago.

Beagley, an account assistance and mother of two, has since done the same.

She completed her first triathlon in Moses Lake May 29.

Burke’s kidney donation to Beagley was featured in the Columbia Basin Herald before the 2004 surgery.

“I didn’t like the condition I was in and wanted to make a change,” he recalled.

Burke, the current advertising director at the Coeur d’Alene Press, also was inspired by the Ironman competition in Coeur d’Alene.

He made fitness a priority in his life and became a triathlete.

Burke shed 15 pounds, training between 12 to 16 hours weekly by running, biking and swimming. His blood pressure and body fat decreased significantly.

He says exercise improved all aspects of his life. His energy slump vanished.

“Primarily, it’s just the energy it gives you to do everything in life a lot healthier,” Burke said.

Finishing a race is “almost beyond description,” he said.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Burke commented. “It’s an incredible euphoria. All the endorphins are working for you after a long endurance event.”

He used to run and bike in college, but never was a swimmer.

“I had swim lessons when I was a kid,” he recalls. “I had to learn to swim to compete. When I started training, I couldn’t swim the length of the pool without being winded and exhausted.”

That’s changed.

“I’m in great shape, in better shape than I’ve ever been in my entire life,” he says.

Burke also spoke of how life-changing it is to donate an organ.

“It’s a major commitment to donate an organ,” he said. “There’s a whole set of new experiences you go through. When you donate an organ, everything is thrown off. You have to adjust your diet and level of activity to find your new life balance.”

He became more aware of his health, even with something as routine as taking ibuprofen for sore muscles.

Having one kidney means he has to know what painkillers could affect the organ.

Beagley, 48, watched Burke complete the 2008 Coeur d’Alene Ironman and followed his example.

She started exercising to lose weight and was successful.

She shed 25 pounds through exercise and eating a healthier diet by avoiding fast food.

Incorporating fruits and vegetables into her diet, drinking homemade juice and eating oatmeal for breakfast are also part of her routine.

Completing the Bloomsday run in Spokane was her first long run, with “50,000 of my closest buds,” she recalled.

Like Burke, Beagley also had to take lessons to learn to swim competitively before entering the Moses Lake Spring Festival Triathlon.

She also trains twice a day, in the morning and at night.

Burke was her inspiration, Beagley said.

“He’s pretty much the only person I know who did something like that,” she says.

The results of her lifestyle changes were significant.

Her triglyceride and cholesterol levels returned to normal. Her blood pressure also decreased.

“It’s just amazing,” she says. “All my levels are just perfect. My doctor is just amazed at how my body accepted the kidney and how well it did. There are no signs of rejection at all.”

“I talked to my doctor about running,” Beagley said. “He really believes in that kind of stuff and had no issues with that.”

Friends who see her after a long time can’t believe how much weight she lost.

Beagley wasn’t into fitness before.

“I played softball in school and got the warm bench award for that,” she joked.

Beagley met her Burke through her husband, Harlan Beagley, the Herald’s current publisher.

While yelling from the sidelines, Harlan documents his wife’s races by shooting photos and video.

“He’s so proud of me. It’s just so fantastic. It’s been so fun,” Kim said.

http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2010/06/08/news/doc4c0ec19e3a2be720762649.txt