Your Incredible Neighbors: Wife gives gift of life to husband

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Your Incredible Neighbors: Wife gives gift of life to husband
By Regina Ford, Green Valley News
Published: Thursday, January 17, 2008 7:49 PM MST

When Shelly Freeman learned that her husband Danny needed a kidney transplant, she was first on the list to offer him one of hers.

Finding an acceptable match is always the trickiest part of the transplant procedure, and the kidney recipient wish list is very long. As luck would have it, Shelly came first in the running, and this past Tuesday, she parted with one of her kidneys so that her husband can live a better and healthier life.

Shelly, who celebrated her 45th birthday Jan. 14, says she couldn’t have wished for a better birthday present than helping her husband.

The couple had kidney transplant surgery Tuesday at University Medical Center in Tucson after working for nearly a year with the UMC Kidney Transplantation Program and coordinator, Annette Whinery.

According to Danny’s parents, Jack and Rose Freeman of Green Valley, both are doing very well.

“Shelly was out of surgery and talking and Dan was a bit out of it because of the medication, but he was still doing well,” Jack said.

Shelly and Danny are no strangers to Green Valley. They have highly recognizable profiles in Green Valley Recreation, the area’s largest social and leisure activity group serving an estimated 24,000 members.

Danny has been employed with GVR for 18 years and is the custodial supervisor for the organization. Shelly has been a GVR employee for the past 13 years, starting out as a landscaper and now working as the top sound and lighting technician, called a Tech II.

In fact, the couple admits that it was while working at GVR that they met and later married.

They have a nine-year-old daughter, Mica, who is a fourth-grader at Sahuarita Intermediate School.

Danny was diagnosed with kidney disease in the early 1990s, the result he said, from toxic exposure of an unknown source. It was not determined to be genetic.

“I had about 50 percent kidney life left back then and the doctor estimated that I had between 12 and 15 years before I’d have to go on dialysis,” he said. “My early symptoms was swelling in the legs and hypertension.”

Danny started dialysis about two years ago, traveling to get treatments in Tucson three-times-a-week.

When it was decided by the doctors at UMC that Danny needed a kidney, a list was complied of possible donors to start the process rolling. Eight people came through immediately to offer him a kidney.

Shelly was the first tested and was an immediate match from the beginning.

It was Shelly’s turn to endure the testing which included not only her physical well being, but her mental state as well.

“The biggest concern they had was that I wasn’t being coerced or forced into donating my kidney,” she said. “They asked Danny to leave the room and talked to me for about three hours. I explained that I was the one who said test me first.”

After Shelly passed with flying colors, it was just a matter of scheduling a date for surgery.

“The kidney transplant team was so wonderful and talked us through the procedures and what we could expect,” Danny said. “The doctors and their support staff have put us both at ease and given us the confidence to go through this.”

Shelly and Danny said they are grateful for all the support they’ve received from the community, especially the GVR staff and members.

“Our GVR insurance plan allows us to manage a good amount of the medical bills, and we’ve been able to rearrange our work schedules to deal with the dialysis and surgery,” she said. “We make up the missed work time, of course, but it’s still been a juggling act.”

Although insurance pays for many of the medical bills, there are other issues, including some prescriptions that may not be covered.

A savings account has been set up under the name Dan and Shelly Freeman at M&I Bank. Those wishing to make a charitable contribution to the Freemans can do so by visiting an M&I branch. The local M&I Bank is located at 270 W. Continental Road.

Besides the love and support from Danny’s parents, Shelly’s family has also been there for the couple, including her two older daughters.

Both husband and wife have some recuperating to do and will take the time off work needed to make sure all is well with the transplant.

Shelly said that donors are often concerned with the health of their own remaining kidney.

“If something should go wrong with mine, I have been told that I’ve earned priority status on the receiving end for a new kidney,” she said.

Danny has been told that he will be on anti-rejection drugs forever and other than watching his diet, will be able to lead a normal life.

Danny said he will be forever grateful to his wife, for what he described as the “ultimate sacrifice.”

“Even when we first started dating before we were married, I explained to her about my kidney disease, and she said from the very beginning, that if something happened, she would give me one of hers,” he said. “I couldn’t be more thankful or receive a better gift.”

The Freemans have kept their sense of humor about their medical situation.

“I kid Danny and tell him a kidney from me, a woman — will allow him to stay in touch with his feminine side,” Shelly said. “That scares him just a little, but we both laugh.”

rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740

Details

According to the University Medical Center Web site, 20 million Americans — 1 in 9 U.S. adults — have chronic kidney disease. Sixty-eight thousand of these people are on dialysis and are waiting for a kidney transplant.

More than 18,000 kidney transplants occur each year, with almost half of the organs for these transplants provided by living donors.

UMC is actively seeking ways to increase living donation, as well as expanding the number of kindeys recovered from deceased donors. Historically, kidneys transplanted from living donors have a greater success than kidneys transplanted from deceased donors.

Donor candidates will be evaluated individually to determine their eligibility.

For more information contact: UMC Kidney Transplantation Program, 1501 N Campbell Ave., Tucson at (520) 694-7365 or (800) 297-1250 or visit its Web site at: www.azumc.com.

http://www.gvnews.com/articles/2008/01/17/news/news03.txt