Sister helps sister with kidney; dad diagnosed while trying to help

All in the Family: Sister helps sister with kidney; dad diagnosed while trying to help

By DARLENE PRINCE

prince@crescent-news.com

WEST UNITY -- While the latter part of 2010 may have been difficult for members of the Lammers and Dickinson families, it also had several good points.

The family struggled with a kidney failure for one pregnant daughter, Karina Dickinson, of West Unity, and a cancerous tumor that was discovered in Dickinson's father, Bill Lammers, of Defiance.

The good news is that Dickinson will receive a kidney transplant from her sister, Jennifer Benedict, on March 17 at the University of Toledo Medical Center. Both women are originally from Defiance.

While a cancerous tumor on Lammers' pancreas was found when he was tested for being a transplant match for Dickinson, the tumor was discovered in time that he will probably not have to undergo chemotherapy once the tumor is removed. Lammers is a retired principal from Defiance Middle School.

Dickinson, who lives in West Unity, remembers that things started to change for the worse in May 2010.

"I was pregnant and had been experiencing some sickness," she said. Since she had already had two other children, she attributed her illness to being part of the pregnancy.

"But then, my ankles became very swollen," she said. "I knew something was wrong." She went to a hospital in Toledo where she underwent grueling tests.

"I did not get any sleep for two days," she said. "I had a biopsy and they discovered my kidneys had shut down. But, by that time, I was in end stage renal failure. I had to get a port placement right away and start dialysis immediately."

She was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy (or Berger's disease).

Dickinson said there was some talk of her not continuing on with her pregnancy, but, "I was feeling a lot of movement from the baby. I knew the baby was a little girl. I wanted to carry my pregnancy as far as I could.

"I was on a very strict regimen," she said. "I had to have complete bed rest because my blood pressure was so high. I was undergoing dialysis in Defiance four times a week, four hours each time."

With two little girls to care for -- Kaylee, 5 years old, and Alaina, 4 years old -- bed rest was next to impossible.

"My husband, Scott, had to keep working for the family," she said. "So my daughters and I moved in with my sister, Abie Gill, in Defiance.

"Abie is a stay-at-home mom," she said. "She has one child with another one due this Saturday."

"My baby, Jillian, was due on Oct. 4, but she was born on Aug. 17, and she is perfect," she said. "I call her my miracle. She came home 10 days after she was born. She was so healthy, she didn't have monitors or anything like that when she came home."

After Jillian was born, the search for a kidney transplant started for Dickinson.

"They found out that my father was a match, but they also discovered that he had a cancerous tumor on his pancreas," she said. "It was bad news that he couldn't help me, but good news that the tumor was discovered and could be removed. By him wanting to save my life, he was saved. He will have his surgery at the Cleveland Clinic on April 18.

"When they started testing the rest of the family, two of my sisters were pregnant. When Jenny got tested she was a match. She really wants to do this. She has been very motivated."

Benedict lives in Oconomowoc, Wis., and will be in the area early Monday to begin preparations for the transplant on Thursday.

"I was shocked when I heard that Karina's kidneys had shut down," Benedict said. "My sister, Marla, who also lives in Wisconsin, and I rushed down to see Karina. When I heard she needed a kidney transplant, I told her I would take the test. Then, I passed all of the tests.

"I feel honored to get the opportunity to show Karina how much I love her," she said. "She was getting so many dialysis treatments. They say every time you get a dialysis, it is if you have run a marathon. She was exhausted. And, she has three small children to take care of. Of course I would do this for her.

"They said I would be able to return back home by March 26," she said. Benedict was making plans for her absence with her husband and their four children, one of whom is only 20 months old.

Dickinson said, in spite of the struggles she and her family have endured, she feels blessed because of the support the family has received.

"My church family (Solid Rock Community Church in West Unity) has been helping us out with meals and house cleaning and watching the children," she said. "They set up a 'care calendar' and people signed up to help with meals and other chores."

She noted how her husband's place of employment, A-Stamp in Bryan, has supported the family through the crisis and allowed him time off to be with the family.

"That is huge," she said, "to give him the time off and let him know that his job is safe."

"What we have gone through is very humbling," she said. "I'm young. I am only 31 years old. I've always been the one to help everyone else. But it is a blessing to be on the receiving end."

Concluded Dickinson: "The biggest thing that I used at the hospital was this scripture, 'God's grace is sufficient for me.' I have lived through all of these circumstances and He has been so gracious to me."

http://www.crescent-news.com/news/article/4997619