Kidney recipient from Fayette gives thanks for better health

Article published December 22, 2008

Kidney recipient from Fayette gives thanks for better health
Woman views holidays as time to reflect on medical victory and to look ahead to 2009

FAYETTE, Ohio - Maria Rosales routinely needs naps - not to mention multiple medications - but the Fayette woman is healthier and perkier than she was during the holidays last year.

Eleven months after a fellow churchgoer gave her a kidney, Mrs. Rosales no longer needs to go to Toledo for dialysis. She is cooking tamales and helped her husband, Tony, tend a vegetable garden last summer. And David Tackett of Archbold, who donated his kidney, fondly calls the 65-year-old woman "Mom."

Without Mr. Tackett, 33, Mrs. Rosales still may be suffering from kidney failure. Her husband, pastor of Archbold's End Times Harvest Church, retired from his job at ConAgra Foods Inc. in Archbold in 2002 to help care for her, but could not donate one of his kidneys for health reasons.

"I thought I'd never get better because it takes a long time to get a kidney," Mrs. Rosales said. "I thank God I'm getting to stay home and not be over there in dialysis."

A year ago, Mrs. Rosales and Mr. Tackett were hoping for the final medical nod from the University of Toledo Medical Center to undergo the kidney transplant. Up until the surgery in January, Mrs. Rosales said, she was questioning whether he should take the risk.

But Mr. Tackett was released from the former Medical College of Ohio the day after surgery, and he was back to work at ConAgra in five weeks. Mr. Tackett first met Mr. Rosales at ConAgra before the older man retired, and he and his wife, Toni Tackett, joined their church about two years ago.

"Everything's going really well," said Mr. Tackett, a youth minister at End Times Harvest. "I healed quick, and I'm still glad I did it. I have no regrets."

A mother of four, Mrs. Rosales has battled health problems for more than 20 years after the nurse's aide experienced stomach pain while trying to lift a nursing home patient, leading to several surgeries.

She also has diabetes, congestive heart failure, fibromyalgia, and other ailments.

Now, though, Mrs. Rosales is able to go to a restaurant or store with her husband, as well as visit with family and friends. Since the transplant surgery, she only has been hospitalized once this year, not five or so times as in the past. She has visited the staff and patients at Dialysis Partners of Northwest Ohio in Toledo, feeling a bit guilty because they continue to need treatment.

The Rosaleses, who have 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, are looking forward to celebrating their golden wedding anniversary next year. They also look back at how Mrs. Rosales struggled with both physical and psychological stress while undergoing dialysis for two years.

"This time of year, we just reflect back on what happened these last three years, and we say 'Hey, we're OK. We're ready for 2009,' " Mr. Rosales said.

He added: "I thank God for the Tackett family. David and Toni, they're something else."

Contact Julie M. McKinnon at:
jmckinnon@theblade.com
or 419-724-6087.

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