Seeking hope amid worry

Seeking hope amid worry

March 30, 2008 12:16 am

Local artist Ana Rendich, holding a 'spiritual bouquet' made by students at St. Patrick's School, has end-stage kidney failure and is searching for a kidney donor. When she has the energy, Rendich, 50, works on a series of landscapes in her Chancellor-area art studio.

By Megan Grigorian

Ana Rendich, a painter, displays her work in two Fredericksburg galleries. And she volunteers a few hours a week teaching Spanish to fourth-graders. But what she's always enjoyed most is playing outside with her children when they come home from school.

But lately, worn down from the effects of a 30-year battle with kidney disease, Rendich can barely stay awake until dinner. She refuses to stop volunteering, but her painting has taken a back seat. Playing outside is rarely an option.

"We go very few places, do few things anymore," Rendich said. "A big thing for us is to take a drive on the weekend."

Rendich, of Fredericksburg, has end-stage kidney failure and is in need of a kidney transplant. Since there are no familial matches to her Type O blood, Rendich, 50, and her husband are hoping a friend or stranger will come through for her.

They've made a public plea for help from a friend, acquaintance or stranger on their Web site, rescue ana.com.

Asking someone to donate a kidney is emotional not just because Rendich needs one to live, but because she and her husband know what a large request it is to ask of someone. Deciding to seek a living donor didn't sit well with Rendich.

"I just did not feel right about it," Rendich said.

But after struggling with the severity of the favor and realizing their options were limited, the couple decided to make their plea.

"We had to ask, because if we didn't ask, we weren't going to find anyone," Millis said.

HURDLES AND HOPE

Besides exhaustion, Rendich suffers daily from nausea, vomiting and difficulty sleeping.

Fellow artist and friend Kristy Zerull said Rendich never wants to let friends know just how difficult things are for her.

"She always wants to do something for someone else," Zerull said. "She doesn't want people to feel sorry for her."

Rendich was 16 when she was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis, a disease that attacks glomeruli in the kidneys. Glomeruli are responsible for cleaning the blood in the kidney. Without them, the kidney cannot filter waste and extra fluid from the blood properly.

Doctors diagnosed Rendich after she battled chronic headaches and pain. They initially gave her six or seven years to live. She said her parents took her from doctor to doctor, trying drug therapy and special diets. She credits her survival to her parents' efforts.

While Rendich waits, her kidney progressively loses function. It lost 20 percent of its function within the last two years alone.

If she doesn't find a donor soon, she will begin peritoneal dialysis treatments at home next month. The dialysis involves a 30-minute fluid exchange from the abdomen four to six times a day.

Dr. Jeremy Marcus, Rendich's nephrologist, says the lack of knowledge on the origin of her disease makes treatment difficult.

"No one really understands why people get this disease," Dr. Marcus said. "It's a disease that just occurs spontaneously in some people."

The Washington Transplant Center has tested six people who volunteered to donate for Rendich, but none were matches.

Rendich's blood type adds a layer of difficulty to finding a donor. People with Type O, like Rendich, can give to people with any blood type, but they can only receive from those with Type O.

Rendich also has a high level of antibodies that have negative reactions to other people's antibodies, making her a so-called "sensitized" patient and creating another hurdle to finding a match.

Upon the WTC's recommendation, Rendich will transfer to John Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center. The John Hopkins CTC has a sensitized patient program and offers a greater chance of finding a donor for sensitized patients.

"We believe in miracles, we do," Millis said. "We need one more."

FINDING ANA'S 'DAN'

While looking at a bouquet of encouraging cards made by her St. Patrick's School students, Rendich said she is blessed for all the support from her friends and church family.

"I'm so moved to be in such warm company and kind souls," Rendich said. "These are the things that make you forget everything."

Two friends, Zerull and Pam Allen, are dedicating an upcoming art show--"In His Hands"--to Rendich and to raising awareness of kidney disease. The show will be at The Third Floor at 810 Caroline St. in May and June, with an opening reception May 2 at 6 p.m.

"A sense of hope is very hard to find when the circumstances are that extreme," Allen said. "We want to give her a sense of hope."

Daniel Hughes, a Web site designer from Pennsylvania, serves as the ultimate source of hope for Rendich and Millis.

After seeing his neighbor lose a battle to kidney disease, he decided to become a donor and used a Web site to search for someone in need of his kidney.

"I thought, you know if somebody came forward and could have helped him, maybe he wouldn't have died," Hughes said.

Hughes, the 20th person tested for a Massachusetts man, gave his kidney on Feb. 26. He and his recipient, besides forming a long-term friendship, are in good health.

Hughes gives Rendich and Millis messages of encouragement, telling them to never stop trying.

"It is amazing that there are people like Dan out there," Millis said. "We just have to find Ana's Dan."

To reach Megan Grigorian:540/374-5000, ext. 5658
Email: mgrigorian@freelancestar.com

On average, women in Ana Rendich's age group (50-54) live six years on dialysis but 18 years with a transplant, according to the United States Renal Data System. To get tested to be a potential donor for Rendich, contact Glenn Millis at 703/851-2420 or rescue_ana@comcast.net.

For information about becoming a living donor for anyone in need--thousands are waiting, including others in the Fredericksburg area--visit livingdonors.org or call 800/622-9010.

Information about kidney donation will be available at an art show honoring Rendich in May, at 810 Caroline St. in Fredericksburg. Ten percent of the proceeds will go to the National Kidney Foundation.

To donate a kidney you must be between 21 and 60 and have no family history of kidney disease. OTHER DETAILS:

All costs of any medical expenses are covered by the recipient's insurance.

Besides physical tests, psychological tests are performed to make sure reasons for donation are altruistic.

A prospective donor can decide against donation at any time.

There is a 97 percent patient survival rate for kidney recipients from a live donor, according to the National Kidney Foundation.

The procedure--a laparoscopic nephrectomy--involves doctors making small incisions in the abdomen. The surgery takes three to four hours.

A donor will be in the hospital on average for two to four days and can return to work in about a month.

--livingdonorsonline.org

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