Sister-in-law giving the gift of life

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Sister-in-law giving the gift of life

By AARON KRAUSE - Reflector Staff Writer | Wednesday October 22 2008, 11:34am

Carrie Light constantly relives the phone call.

It was her 9-year-old nephew, Dalton Brooks.

He was ready to go to school one day last school year, but could not awaken his diabetic father, Daniel, a kidney failure patient.

He was on the floor and Dalton was hysterical.

"I've never heard him scream or cry like that," Light said, adding she could hear his younger sister, Lexi, crying and screaming.

Light, who lives nearby, called 9-1-1 and then flew to the Brooks' Norwalk home, arriving within about a minute.
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She found paramedics surrounding her brother-in-law. He had clammy skin, glassy eyes, was sweating profusely and incoherent.

Daniel Brooks did not recognize anybody or know where he was.

"I've never seen him so sick," she said.

Light hopes that after she gives him a part of her, Brooks will never be that sick again.

She will give him a kidney during an operation scheduled for Nov. 7 at the Cleveland Clinic.

"He'll feel better instantly once he gets a kidney," Light said. "I can't wait to go see him in that (recovery) room. I'll be so happy."

Daniel Brooks, a 43-year-old who must regularly undergo dialysis, will also need a pancreas transplant at some point.

Light said she never hesitated to give her brother-in-law a kidney when she learned she was a match.

"Something just told me I was going to be a match," she said. "I just knew in my heart I had his kidney."

When Light received her driver's license, she had indicated she wanted to be an organ donor.

She said she never dreamed she would give one to a family member.

That chance has now come. She will give a kidney to the man she considers a brother.

"I don't know how to thank her; I can't," Daniel Brooks said during a recent dialysis session. "She's my angel."

Light then kissed her sister's husband, a large man with a gentle voice.

Light had gone through two full days of testing at the Cleveland Clinic to determine her eligibility and whether she was healthy enough to undergo the procedure.

She was given a clean bill of health and learned she was compatible.

According to Mayoclinic.com, all kidney transplant candidates must have adequate heart-lung function and cannot have other medical conditions that limit life expectancy. Not everyone with end-stage kidney disease is a suitable candidate for kidney transplantation. Those with active infection, unstable coronary artery disease or other severe medical problems generally are not candidates for a transplant.

About 14,000 kidney transplants are performed each year, according to the U.S. government. A little more than one-third of transplanted kidneys are from living donors.

Each year, more than 3,000 people die while waiting for a kidney transplant. The lack of donated organs available for transplantation results in thousands of deaths each year. Almost anyone can donate, according to The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

Light decided to and she broke the news of her match on her sister and brother-in-law's 13th anniversary.

"The amazing thing is my sister is the match and she can't be more than happy to do it," Trisha Brooks said. "She's an amazing woman .. she's more than that. She's always been a great sister."

Dalton and Lexi, Light's nephew and niece, respectively, agree.

"She's a very caring person; I love her a lot," said Dalton, who is now 10.

"I feel great that Carrie is giving a kidney to my dad so that my dad can live longer and feel better," said Lexi, a Maplehurst Elementary third-grader.

FOR YOUR INFO

A benefit dinner for Brooks has been scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 23 at the Eagles hall in Norwalk. Admission to the rigatoni dinner will be $7.

http://www.norwalkreflector.com/articles/2008/10/22/front/iq_634818.txt