SISTER'S KIDNEY IS GREATEST GIFTJune 23, 2007
By BRIAN STANLEY Staff Writer
Diane Dastych of Joliet gave her younger sister a hand-me-down that fit perfectly.
And Shelia Egger said the kidney she received from Diane on June 5 was the greatest gift she could have.
"It's overwhelming," Shelia said as she recovered at her Manhattan home.
Around three years ago, Shelia was informed she would need a kidney transplant.
She'd undergone a kidney and pancreas transplant 13 years ago and had been told she would probably need another in less than a decade.
Last Thanksgiving, her sister told her she'd be willing to donate an organ.
"It took six months of testing, but we are a perfect match," Diane said.
"I was stunned. I didn't know what to say," Shelia said.
The surgery took place at University of Chicago Medical Center a few weeks after doctors informed the sisters were compatible.
"She kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to go through with this," Diane said. "I kept telling 'Yes. Don't ask me again or I won't.'"
Diane said one of the reasons she gave her sister the organ was the better success rate when it is taken from a living donor.
She works as a nurse at Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center; Shelia is the secretary of the emergency department. Both of them have worked at the hospital for 34 years.
"I started a month before she did, so I got that on her, too," Diane joked.
While she feels she'll never be able to repay her sister's generosity, Shelia said she'll still try in small ways to show her appreciation.
"My husband and I will definitely have to take (Shelia and her husband) out for dinner," she said.
Shelia also made a quilt for her sister who claimed she was a little nervous before the operation.
For once, however, Shelia had more experience than her sister did.
"The first time I was extremely sick going into the surgery. This time I was in much better health and it helped me," she said.
Diane admitted she felt some discomfort after the surgery.
"But it was worth it," she said. "Shelia's got three children and grandchildren. I was happy to do it."
Still, Diane isn't completely above teasing her sister about her gift of love.
"I keep telling her, 'You got the better half inside you now,'" she said.
Reporter Brian Stanley can be reached at (815) 729-6079 or bstanley@scn1.com
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/440296,4_1_JO23_KIDNEY_S1.article
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