York woman cheats death

York woman cheats death
KATHY STEVENS The York Dispatch
Article Last Updated: 08/15/2008 11:10:50 AM EDT

In all, Valen Cover has a 40-inch trail of scars on her body.

Her heart, attitude, demeanor, however, seem without blemish. A smile lightens her brown eyes even as she details a life of health issues she says she wouldn't trade for anything.

Seizures at age 5; scoliosis in eighth grade; and the diagnosis of polycystic kidney disease at 10, which, nearly nine years later, led to renal failure and transplant.

But illness is not why someone approached Valen, 25, of Dover, to write her biography.

Instead, it is how she has chosen to face those challenges and how she has inspired others, wrote biographer Dennis McCloskey.

McCloskey's book, "My Favorite American," details Valen's life. Valen talked recently about her journey, the
biography and her philosophy that one action affects another as do ripples on a lake.

"It seems like I've fought death from before I was born," she said. "But I wouldn't have it any other way. It's made me who I am, and I'm grateful."

She celebrated the sixth anniversary of a kidney transplant Wednesday, and Valen says it's a milestone more important than birthdays.

Since the transplant, Valen has worked to raise awareness about the kidney disease by forming a local chapter of the PKD Foundation, a Kansas City-based nonprofit, and has spoken at numerous foundation events. She works full time for an insurance company and one day hopes to become an inspirational speaker.

Many have the disease: The kidney disease, called PKD, affects 600,000 Americans and 12.5 million people worldwide, according to the foundation.

There is no treatment, or cure, for the genetic disease, which is passed from one generation to the next by an affected parent.

Valen's mother, Pam Cover, has the disease, as do Valen's older brother and his son. Children of affected parents have a 50 percent chance of inheriting the disease. But in many cases, the disease doesn't manifest itself until the 30s and 40s, according to the foundation.

Pam Cover, now 52, still has excellent kidney function. Valen says she and her mother represent opposite ends of the spectrum in the effects of the disease. It's unusual for kidneys to fail at a young age as Valen's did.

She'd had problems all along with bleeding cysts that had developed on her kidneys. One September during her freshman year in college, they did not stop bleeding.

Doctors had no choice but to remove her kidneys. Valen was on dialysis, a process that simulates kidney function, for seven months until a organ for transplant was found.

A few years after the transplant, McCloskey, of Ontario, Canada, was working on a newsletter in December 2005 for the company that employs him and Valen. Someone suggested he write her story for the company's publication.

Writer became inspired: McCloskey said he was immediately struck by her faith, hope and courage.

"The lady just never gives up in the face of trials and tribulations that would bring down a lesser person," McCloskey said. "Her light seems to shine brighter than most."

A motorcycle accident that once again ended in Valen's hospitalization jarred McCloskey. When he spoke to her via telephone in the hospital, she laughed and told him he should write a book about her and call it "Nine Lives," McCloskey said.

Soon after, the research began; Valen disclosed details of her life to McCloskey. Her mother also let loose one detail she'd kept to herself for years, explaining to Valen the decision to terminate the pregnancy shortly after conception.

"She thought it was important to tell me because it was a part of my life, even before my life," Valen said about her mother. "She'd been afraid to tell me because she thought I would think she hadn't wanted me."

It wasn't that she didn't want another child, but she was afraid to pass on the kidney disease.

But a chance encounter with a little girl changed Pam Cover's mind. She canceled the procedure the day it was to occur.

Valen Cover was born just after 3 a.m. Feb. 5, 1983. Now, despite years of struggle, she says she does her best to maintain her health, although she can't turn down ice cream.

"I don't know what lies ahead, but I know everything I do each day matters," Valen said. "I try to remember that, to accomplish what I can today because in one second the whole world can change."

-- Reach Kathy Stevens at 505-5437 or kstevens@yorkdispatch.com.
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Appearance
Valen Cover, subject of Dennis McCloskey's biography "My Favorite American," will be on hand Saturday, Sept. 20 at the annual South Central PA Chapter of the PKD Foundation Walk for PKD at Milton Hershey School, 801 Spartan Lane, Hershey, Dauphin County. Registration for the walk begins at 9 a.m.; the event begins at 10 a.m. Learn more about the event and PKD online at www.pkdcure.org; search for South Central PA Walk for PKD.

"My Favorite American," a biography by Dennis McCloskey about Valen Cover of Dover, may be obtained online from Canadian publisher General Store Publishing House at www.gsph.com, www.amazon.com or by contacting Cover, at PKDwillnotbeatme@yahoo.com.

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