A year later: A new kidney, a new life

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A year later: A new kidney, a new life

By Linda Taylor
(Created: Wednesday, September 5, 2007 5:01 PM CDT)

A little more than a year ago, Southlake resident Jamie Cadiz was awaiting a kidney transplant and watching her health decline daily. Tuesday night she appeared at the Southlake City Council meeting, glowing with health and looking forward to the future.

Cadiz, along with the man who made her life possible by donating a kidney, Scott Clark, also from Southlake, was on hand to accept a proclamation from the council declaring September “Polycystic Kidney Disease Awareness Month.”

Cadiz, who is the daughter of Southlake Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn Morris, was diagnosed with PKD when she was a senior in high school. PKD is a genetic disease that causes fluid filled cysts to form in the kidneys, Morris said. The cysts can grow large enough to crowd out the normal kidney tissue, making the kidneys unable to function normal, Morris said.

There is no cure for the disease, Morris said, but kidney transplants can extend the life of those affected by the disease, Cadiz said. Cadiz said she had been on the transplant list for some time, waiting for a compatible donor. In 2006, her mother mentioned Cadiz’ plight to several members of her church.

One member, Scott Clark, was touched by Morris’ appeal and went to be tested. He turned out to be a match and the surgery was scheduled at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore for July 30.

“This was just something I felt I should do,” Clark said. “It feels really good to be able to help someone like this. The whole experience was just fantastic for me.”

For Cadiz, the transplant was literally a new lease on life. While it is not a cure, a transplant will allow her to live a fairly normal life with a daily regimen of anti rejection drugs.

“This has just been unbelievable for me and my family,” Cadiz said. “I wake up every morning and say ‘Thank you, God’ because it is just so fantastic to be alive and to be healthy..”

Morris and Cadiz first learned about PKD in 1963 when Morris’ first husband and Cadiz’s father was diagnosed with the disease.

“The doctors told me the disease would cause the kidneys to form masses of cysts that would eventually rupture and cause scar tissue,” Morris said. “Kidney function would be lost as the disease progressed. His life expectancy was reduced to 40 years of age. In 1963, dialysis was not an option.”

Morris said her husband’s mother was diagnosed with the same disease about a year later, which sent her in search of more information about her husband’s genetic heritage.

“My research revealed PKD in every generation of his family,” Morris said. “In 1980 at the age of 42, my husband began dialysis. Again we were told a transplant was not an option. He died at the age of 47.”

Because she sees the need for help, Morris has committed her time and efforts to raising funds for research. She initiated the first Southlake PKD Walk in 2004.

Last year’s walk drew more than 300 participants and $60,000 for research. This year’s walk is scheduled for Sept. 15 at the Rustin Park Pavilion in Southlake Town Square. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the walk will begin at 9:30 a.m. To register for the walk in advance, go to www.pkdcure.org.

“PKD is the most prevalent genetic disease, yet the National Institute of Health doesn’t put the funding toward research for PKD that it does for other diseases,” Morris said. “Currently, for the first time ever, a drug has been identified as a possible treatment. The study is in its final stages, but more research needs to be done to find other drugs and other forms of treatment. And research takes money. That’s why I am so committed to this.”

Contact staff writer Linda Taylor at 972-628-4076 ext. 116 or ltaylor@acnpapers.com

http://www.southlaketimes.com/articles/2007/09/11/southlake_times/news/01front.txt