She gives a kidney to help a friend

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

She gives a kidney to help a friend
An influential figure in O.C.'s art community needed a kidney. A local artist steps up to help.

By RICHARD CHANG
The Orange County Register

Mike McGee needed a kidney.

The well-regarded art professor and gallery director at Cal State Fullerton suffered from polycystic kidney disease – a potentially deadly condition inherited from his mother. There's no known cure for the disease.

He wasn't diagnosed until four years ago, but he knew for decades he was susceptible. In the past couple of years, his condition got worse, and by last summer, his situation was turning more dire.

"There were times I couldn't get out of bed," McGee said. "Last year, it felt like I had the flu for a year."

Enter Amy Caterina.

The longtime friend of McGee and his wife, Andrea Harris, had already offered to donate her kidney. But she believed her blood type was A positive, not a match with McGee's O positive.

Still, in August, Caterina got tested anyway.

"It was the right thing to do," said Caterina, 34, who is godmother to Harris' son Alex, 8, and his tooth fairy. She's got tattoos of his drawings from age 4, 5 and 6 etched in her arms.

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes for my friends."

•••

Mike and Andrea were basically Amy's family away from home. She's originally from Niagara Falls, N.Y. – where all the honeymooners go. She moved to Orange County in 1998 to attend art graduate school at Cal State Fullerton. That's where she met McGee and Harris, who married three years ago.

McGee, 53, suffered through kidney-related back pain and illness for years. But he didn't let many people know about it.

By August 2007, it became clear he'd have to have a kidney transplant or go on dialysis – a mechanical function that removes waste and fluid from the body, but takes a toll in the process.

According to McGee and medical studies, dialysis does only about 20 percent of what one's kidneys are supposed to do. Seven percent of people on dialysis die every year, and after five years, the risk of death increases.

"You become sicker," McGee said of life on dialysis. "You're weaker. And it takes so much of your time. Some people can't even work anymore."

As 2007 came to a close, McGee's kidneys started shutting down. He placed his name on a kidney donor list, and though he faced the prospect of dialysis, he remained low-key about his situation, not sharing the news beyond his immediate family and closest friends.

But his wife wasn't quiet. In October, she put the word out via e-mail to Cal State Fullerton faculty, staff and students. The e-mail was widely distributed, and it made a couple of blogs and online newsletters. The letter also made its way around the Orange County arts community.

The response was surprisingly strong. People McGee didn't even know – including CSUF faculty and staff – lined up to get tested. Folks on the board of the Grand Central Art Center offered to go through the arduous process to determine whether one is a proper, healthy donor.

"I was shocked that so many people responded," McGee said. "It has renewed my faith in mankind. We see so much crap about the terrible things that people do. To think that so many people would rally around my cause – I'm just totally blown away."

After five months of tests, it turns out that the best match was right under their nose – Amy Caterina. She was O positive, not A positive as she believed.

On June 9, McGee and Caterina had the kidney transplant surgery at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. The lead surgeon was Dr. Edwin Ruzics.

The transplant took more than five hours, but it was successful. Caterina's healthy kidney was removed from her body and inserted into McGee, leaving him with three kidneys.

Caterina and Harris have been chronicling the entire experience in a blog, http://teammikie.blogspot.com. They've put pictures and their inner-most thoughts online. It has helped them get through an exciting, unpredictable and emotionally draining period.

"It's a big team effort," Harris said. "That's why we're calling it 'Team Mikie.' As artists, educators and gallery directors, we're collaborators. We don't do things alone."

•••

It's been a few weeks since the surgery, and McGee is responding to the new kidney well. He has to take about a dozen pills a day, including antibiotics and anti-rejection drugs, so his body won't repel the new organ. But McGee is able to take walks, go to the movies and make his many doctor appointments. He hopes to return to teaching in the fall.

"I'm feeling pretty good," he said. "I can't believe Amy did this. It's so amazing that anyone would do it."

Caterina has been recovering as well. She's the artist-in-residence at the Grand Central Art Center, and lives in a room above the galleries.

"I'm sore, and I get tired easily," she said. "But there's no question in my mind; this is what I had to do."

Caterina says she's been getting dozens of phone calls and messages expressing gratitude. "People I do not even know have hugged me."

Caterina recently announced her engagement to Kevin Hill, who has helped her from day one.

"There is a feeling of destiny," said Hill, 37, a computer graphics artist. "So many things have lined up at the right time."

In fact, this Saturday, Caterina will have her first solo exhibition at the Grand Central Art Center. "This used to be real estate, now it's only fields and trees" – a lyric taken from a Talking Heads song – will feature an installation of photography, video and knitted objects in the center's Project Room.

The installation explores preconceptions about natural and urban environments, regeneration, decay and the vegetation of Caterina's imagination. Organizers say the artist was chosen for the show long before she knew she was going to be an organ donor. In other words, there was no "kidney for art show" deal going on. The opening reception is from 7-10 p.m. Saturday, and Caterina is expected to attend.

"I love my show," she said. "I'm so excited. It's an important moment for me. I'm coming into my own."

Because she just went through kidney surgery, she wasn't able to install the work herself. She has relied on friends and colleagues to install pieces for her.

"I've learned a lot in the past six months," Caterina said. "My happiness and the happiness of others around me – it's all connected. Their goals and their success are as important as mine. That's how we succeed."

Most people can live with only one kidney. Caterina's sole kidney is expected to get larger and take on the job of two. In case she ever needs a kidney in the future, she'll go to the top of the recipient's list.

"I feel very fortunate," she said, holding back tears. "I'm really blessed. It's a little overwhelming."

McGee says he knows Caterina endured a lot of pain, and he's forever thankful.

"She did put her life at risk," he said. "I'm just really humbled by the whole thing. It's mind-boggling."

Contact the writer: 714-796-6026 or rchang@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/caterina-mcgee-kidney-2083275-people-art?slideshow=1#