Mother to get a second chance at life

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Mother to get a second chance at life

By TONY HOLT
Hernando Today

Published: April 30, 2010
Updated: 04/30/2010 09:27 pm

RIDGE MANOR - The ominous feeling of knowing her kidneys would fail in the near future never caused Jennifer Medina to lose her nerve.

Her doctors told her at age 19 she would need a transplant in another five years.

That was 13 years ago.

The time has finally come and she remains on an even keel.

"At the time it didn't really register," said the married mother of two. "Over the years, it was looming over me. Now it's almost a relief that it's finally going to happen."

Three days a week she drives to Brandon for dialysis. It was something her doctors hoped she could avoid, but her symptoms worsened a few months ago.

Medina wears a tunnel catheter, which loops over her right collarbone.

After she came home for the first time with a large, white bandage on her chest, that was when her condition fully dawned on her sons, ages 7 and 12.

"Obviously, when I got my port in, it became more real for them," she said.

In another 10 weeks she and her family will pick up and go to Baltimore where she will have her transplant. The operation will be done at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

They will remain in Baltimore for about a month.

Medina's brother is giving her one of his kidneys.

"We just decided to see about making this happen," said Rev. Paul Scott, who lives in Ellenboro, N.C. "It was just something I felt I should do."

The two are five years apart and grew up in a tight-knit family.

"It's an opportunity to continue a life," said Scott. "The fact it's my sister makes it extra special."

Medina was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). It's a scar tissue that forms in parts of the kidney that causes parts of it to fail.

It is typically diagnosed in older patients. The fact Medina was still a teenager when she came down with it made her an extremely rare patient.

To top it off, she must undergo a plasmapheresis, a process in which her blood gets cleaned to reduce the amount of antibodies. Without that procedure, her body would reject her brother's organ.

Relatives, friends and neighbors held a silent auction and benefit dinner in her honor last Sunday.

"We had two weeks or so to prepare for it, so we just ran with what we had," said sister-in-law Liz Medina. "The community came together. It was just unbelievable."

Jennifer Medina is a community service manager for Publix. Her insurance is covering most of her expenses, including her brother's operation.

Her husband stays at home with the children and also cares for his own parents, so her income and benefits are being stretched. There will be out-of-pocket medical expenses, not to mention the family's room and board while they stay in Baltimore.

Sunday's fundraiser raised $4,070, which nearly doubled the original goal, said John Shoppa, a board member of the Ridge Manor Community Center, where the dinner was held.

"We did really well for such a small community," he said. "The community really got behind it."

Medina grew up in Riverview and moved to Ridge Manor with her husband in 2003. Her parents and grandparents all live in the far eastern portion of Hernando County.

"It was very surprising," Medina said of Sunday's turnout. "People don't really think of Ridge Manor in that way because it seems so small, but when you come through the back roads here, you see a lot of neighborhoods and a lot of houses. I can see how so many people showed up."

Medina said she's lost 30 pounds during the past four months. By March, she could barely eat or drink. She started feeling better not long after her dialysis treatments began.

She calls her husband, Ron, "the rock" of the family, but she remains stoic herself.

"I've had good days and bad," she said. "It's been around long enough where it doesn't affect me like it used to.

"I'm a very calm person by nature," Medina continued. "I learned stressing over it is not going to help it."

To learn more:Visit the National Foundation for Transplants website at www.transplants.org.

To make a donation for Jennifer Medina, click on the Patients We Help link on the main page and type in her name in the search box.

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2010/apr/30/302127/ha-mother-to-get-a-second-chance-at-life/