A living proof of faith

A living proof of faith

Wife is perfect match to give husband kidney transplant

By GAIL MAHOLICK gmaholick@tnonline.com
August 4, 2007 Times News

Ed Mertz didn't have to go too far to find someone willing to donate a kidney after his organs went into renal failure.

His wife, Dana, was a perfect match.

Since the operation on July 18, when one of Dana's healthy organs was transplanted low into Ed's abdomen on his right side, they are slowly recuperating from the ordeal together at their home in Franklin Township.

Their story together began simple enough. Their friend, quite unaware that love would blossom between the two, brought the pair together when Ed was supposed to meet a different friend of a friend. Dana happened to be at the luncheon and though neither was looking for a mate, the two seemed to hit it off during that brief time.

Later Ed called her and despite the four hour commute to meet, they fell in love and married in September 2004. Dana, originally from Bigler, gave up her job and moved in with Ed.

Life was good for the couple for a time. Ed did have health problems but his medication and diet kept them under control. He was diagnosed with diabetes in 1990 and was also taking medication for high blood pressure.

Abruptly one day in October 2006 everything changed.

His nephrologist, a physician who specializes in kidney disease, noted that Ed's kidney function was drastically impaired. At 11 percent function. Ed had to go on dialysis immediately. Because his kidney failure happened so rapidly, his doctor didn't have time to prepare a fistula in his arm for dialysis. Instead Ed's dialysis went into a chest tube into his jugular vein until the fistula could be prepared.

Normally patients lose kidney function gradually, which provides for a six to eight month period to prepare an arm for dialysis. Ed had become one of the 350,000 people in the United States with end-stage renal disease.

In addition to removing wastes and fluid, kidneys also regulate body water and other chemicals in blood such as sodium, potassium, phosphorus and calcium. They remove drugs and toxins, release hormones into blood to help regulate blood pressure, make red blood cells and promote strong bones.

Ed's disease could not be treated with conventional medical treatments such as drugs. Only two treatments allow patients to continue living when their kidneys stop functioning: dialysis and kidney transplantation. Ed went for dialysis for four hours, three days a week at the Palmerton Dialysis Center and his name was entered onto the transplant list.

"The first time I went for dialysis they took 10 pounds of fluid," he said. From then on it wasn't uncommon for Ed to lose four pounds of fluid during every dialysis treatment.

While Ed was surviving, neither he nor Dana were happy with the situation. The four hours of dialysis took its toll on the 53-year-old's vitality and their life together.

Now that Ed looks back on that period before dialysis, he sees a pattern that he was unaware of at the time.

"I would come home from work and sit," he said. "I'd look at the grass and think tomorrow."

He really wasn't aware just how sick he had become because it had happened so gradually over a long period. He didn't realize how weak he had become until after the transplant when he felt so much better.

"I also had a kidney infection when I was a kid," he said. "Maybe that contributed to my kidney failure."

As soon as Dana knew about her husband's need for a kidney, she quickly offered up one of hers.

"I said if mine matched, I wanted to give him a kidney," she said.

After some testing, doctors determined that Dana, who is a healthy 34 year-old, was a likely candidate to donate a kidney.

"I'm not going to hold it over his head that I donated my kidney to him," she added kiddingly, "but I do tell him that I'm not going anywhere and leaving my body part behind."

Both of them were at the Lehigh Valley Hospital at 5 a.m. Dana was taken in at 7 a.m., about 1-1/2 hours before her husband. Both were in surgery for about five to six hours. Her healthy kidney had one vein and three arteries. While most kidneys have one of each, she was assured that her situation was not uncommon to have multiple vessels and the extra arteries proved not to be a problem during transplanting.

Her surgery was done laparoscopicly with a three-inch incision and two one-inch incisions for ports. Ed's incision is much larger, going down and around his abdomen in a C-shape.

Both were taking pain medication after the operation, with Dana needing more. Since their pain is subsiding, they are both weaning off drugs.

"I was so sick for so long that once I got her kidney, I felt so much better," said Ed. "I was up and standing within four hours although I wasn't supposed to."

The first thing Ed did was to send flowers to his wife.

"We had excellent care at Lehigh Valley Hospital," said Dana. "We couldn't have asked for better treatment. I believe our rapid recovery is a testament to their care."

They were also quick to credit Dana's co-workers at Walmart who have not allowed the couple to want for anything.

"They bring meals, drive us places and offered so much support," she said. "They call a couple times a day checking up on us to see what else they can do." Not only were her co-workers supportive, she also said Walmart management couldn't have treated her better while she took time off for testing for herself and her husband's dialysis treatments.

Dana's expenses for the transplant were paid for through the National Kidney Acquisition Fund, while her husband's expenses were paid by Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield through Horsehead Corporation, Palmerton, his employer.

"His anti-rejection medication costs $10,721 for three months and we pay $400," she said. The surgery cost over $200,000. Their out-of-pocket cost was $0 because Medicare picked up the $250 deductible.

Ed said the reason a lot of people don't survive long after transplants is that they cannot afford the anti-rejection medication.

"We couldn't have had it any better," said Dana. "We have our faith and we had a lot of prayers. We're living proof of faith. We're so lucky to have the support of my co-workers and our bosses and family and friends throughout everything."

Because Ed was only on dialysis for eight months, he believes that made his recovery easier.

"I'm looking forward to getting back to work," said Ed. Dana seconded that comment.

She intends to return to work within the next six weeks, while Ed won't be too far behind.

"We were used to two incomes and then we went to one for a time," said Dana. "We're both on short term disability and we're both looking forward to getting back to work and our lives."

Dana said that through her offering her organ to her husband she has learned that there are a large number of people waiting for donor organs.

"I've always been registered to give my organs when I die, but I learned that you don't have to wait until you die to offer up a kidney," she said. "It would made such a difference in someone's life."

Ed added, "We always wondered why we met. Now we have our answer."

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