Donating life: Huron pastor donates kidney to Wolsey pastor and friend

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Donating life: Huron pastor donates kidney to Wolsey pastor and friend

Modified: Monday, Apr 5th, 2010
BY: CRYSTAL PUGSLEY

Life is no different than before he donated a kidney to a fellow minister and friend from Wolsey who needed a transplant, said the Rev. Jonathan Boehne of Huron.

On the other side of that coin, life took an amazing turn for the better immediately after the transplant was complete, said the Rev. Scott Spiehs, pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Wolsey.

Following months of testing to ensure compatibility, Boehne and Spiehs wished each other godspeed on Jan. 25, before being wheeled to surgery at Sanford Transplant Center in Sioux Falls.

The two became acquainted when Boehne accepted a pastorate at Mount Calvary Lutheran in July 2006. When senior pastor Dale Sattgast left a month later, Spiehs stepped in to help.

“He was a vacancy pastor,” Boehne said. “He came to help here for 14 or 15 months. That’s how we got to know each other so well.”

Spiehs had been diagnosed with kidney disease, linked to high blood pressure, 12 years ago. It had little effect on his overall health until just in the past year when elevated creatine levels caused sudden drops in blood pressure. Twice he passed out while serving in church.

“The perfect creatine level is 1.2, my level jumped to 7 in January,” Spiehs said. “That tells them function is down. At a level of 5 you can get on the transplant list.”

Spiehs, who lives in Wolsey with his wife, Rosanne, and son, Seth, 9, was accepted to the transplant list on Oct. 23. Unfortunately, it’s a very long list.

“Typically, only 1 in 6 potential donors actually goes through with it,” Spiehs said. “Up to the point they knock you out you can back out,” added Boehne.

Boehne said after passing blood tests to measure blood sugar and creatine levels, he was sent to Sioux Falls for a full day of tests and meetings in mid-December. He met with a social worker, the surgeon, a kidney doctor and a donor advocate, to name a few.

“Everybody wants to make sure you understand what you’re doing,” he said. “They almost scare you — how painful it is, it disrupts your life — they want you to know exactly what you’re getting into.

“Maybe they thought I hadn’t given it much thought, and to some extent, I really hadn’t,” Boehne added. “But I didn’t think I really needed to.”

Boehne said he had discussed it with his wife, Valerie, who expressed initial hesitation before giving him her blessing; and he had talked to the elders of the congregation and they were supportive.

“Most importantly, I had been passing all the tests,” Boehne said. “To me that said only one thing — the Lord wanted me to donate.”

A date for surgery was scheduled at the meeting in December.

“There was some urgency to get the surgery done in January since my wife and I were expecting our third child toward the end of March,” Boehne said. “I didn’t think my wife would appreciate me being out of commission if she were to go into labor.”

Also at this time he was considering two calls he had received for pastorates in Illinois.

Boehne, whose wife gave birth to their third child, Rebekah Grace, on March 22, plans to move his family to El Paso, Ill., on April 13, to become pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church.

It was hardest for him the night before surgery, he said.

“I knew the Lord would bless it and he did,” Boehne added. “Everything went perfectly.

“I feel just as I did before,” he said. “I don’t feel any different. The body can function fine on one kidney.”

Spiehs remembers the emotions that washed over him when he emerged from surgery to find that everything went great.

“It was humbling,” Spiehs said. “Emotionally, it was overwhelming — it was a great blessing to know everything was done, everything was good.”

Kidney’s transplanted from living donors begin functioning immediately, something Spiehs could sense immediately.

“They were pumping fluids in and it was rushing out,” he said.

No more restricting fluid intake or driving to Huron three times a week for four-hour dialysis treatments. He began dialysis in October.

“I feel strongly about this idea of looking at living donors,” Spiehs said. “So many out there are needing these things.

“This is another example of blessings the Lord gives us every day,” Spiehs added. “He created us with two kidneys and we can function with one. Every day is a miracle.”

For the complete article see the 04-04-2010 issue.

http://www.plainsman.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=9064&page=72