Woman To Receive Brother-in-law’s Kidney

Woman To Receive Brother-in-law’s Kidney

By John Whittaker

11/22/2007 - jwhittaker@post-journal.com

LAKEWOOD — Six months ago, Christina and Fred Piazza were still searching to find a donor for the kidney Christina needed so badly.

Fred Jr. had talked about joining a kidney exchange program. The Piazzas listed Christina on the Kidney Connection, a Web site a site created by three local women to increase awareness of kidney donation issues. They dealt with the usual routines at hospitals and with various doctors offices.

They even were interviewed for their local newspaper.

Since they were profiled in that June 10 article in The Post-Journal, Fred and Christina have found their kidney donor — and didn’t have to travel any farther than their own living room.

Today, as the Piazzas sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, the young married couple need only look down the table for their Thanksgiving inspiration.

‘‘All you can say, seriously, is ‘thank you’,’’ Mrs. Piazza said with a glance over her shoulder at her brother-in-law, Jason.

On Jan. 9, after more than a year of kidney dialysis and then months of testing to make sure Jason and Christina are indeed a match, Christina Piazza will have her new kidney.

‘‘I’m grateful to that guy right there for giving her a second chance at life,’’ Piazza said of his younger brother. ‘‘That’s all that matters, is her being healthy.’’

‘We Have Our Hero’

Fred Piazza Sr. is a volunteer firefighter who can’t help himself from smiling at any mention of his pug, Gizmo, and who couldn’t wait for the opening of deer season. Among his favorite topics, though, is about the day he learned his daughter-in-law had found a kidney donor.

While Jason hadn’t been in contact much with his family for months, they reconnected earlier this year. Shortly after meeting her brother-in-law, Christina, along with her husband, had to go to Buffalo for an annual check-up. Jason asked if he could go, too.

It was there that he found out he and Christina have the same blood type — setting in motion a chain of events leading to the transplant in January.

Nearly 2,000 miles away while attending a convention in Las Vegas and unaware of what was going on in Lakewood, Fred Piazza Sr. was still doing his best to find a donor for his daughter-in-law. Walking the hallways at a volunteer fireman’s convention, Piazza’s thoughts weren’t far from his daughter-in-law at home. A Kidney Walk T-shirt told everyone he met part of the Piazza’s story.

‘‘I just kept telling people, ‘We’re waiting for our hero,’’’ the elder Piazza said. ‘‘People would ask me about the shirt and why I was wearing it. Then I’d tell them our story, and that we were waiting for our hero.’’

As Fred told his father what was happening back in Buffalo, Fred could only tell those around him — ‘‘We’ve found our hero.’’

Months after the fact, surrounded by his family and with Gizmo running through his legs, the story still touches the elder Piazza.

‘‘I can’t help it,’’ Piazza Sr. said with tears in his eyes. ‘‘I’m just proud of him.’’

‘A Lot Of Stress’

Christina Piazza learned she would need a new kidney in 2006. Since the diagnosis, she has dialysis treatments three times a week — treatments that often leave her tired or sick.

‘‘A lot of times, I’ll come down and tell her, ‘‘You look terrible,’’’ Piazza Sr. says jokingly. ‘‘She’ll have no color. ... I’m still trying to get her to put on a little weight.’’

Unable to work or use her right arm much because her right side will be the entry point for her surgery, treatment, rest and worry fill a large part of the young couple’s days. Piazza, who is employed at Cummins Inc., credits company officials with being understanding when he’s unable to work as he and Christina cope with her disease.

That understanding doesn’t help pay the bills, though, and Piazza recently learned his insurance doesn’t cover much of Christina’s prescription costs.

Standing in the dining room of his parents’ house, Fred can’t help but smile when he looks up at Jason. After making the decision to be a donor, Jason has had to endure his own battery of tests and trips to the doctor’s office.

A kidney donor must go through a series of tests before a transplant surgery can be scheduled. Two initial blood tests determine the donor’s blood type and degree of HLA matching. The HLA issue typing test shows how well the donor and recipient match. Crossmatch tests are repeated one or two weeks before surgery to be sure the surgery will be successful.

Then come a series of laboratory and X-ray tests to screen for kidney function, liver function, hepatitis or other viruses or infections. If the doctor decides the donor kidney is healthy enough, a computerized tomography test, in which dye is injected into a vein to find out if urinary tract, kidneys and the blood vessels leading to them are normal, is run.

There is only one test — a final tomography test — left for the Piazzas before her new kidney becomes a reality.

‘‘It’s been a lot of stress,’’ she said.

What The Future Holds

Fred Piazza Jr. will return to work soon, and Christina will find a job when she’s able.

In other words, the couple hopes to find a normal life in their future.

Before Christina’s diagnosis, she and Fred enjoyed traveling and camping — pursuits that became more difficult when the dialysis treatments began. To travel any extended distance, the Piazzas have to find a hospital that can take on another dialysis patient. And, often, Christina doesn’t feel much like going anywhere.

After the last year, a vacation sounds like a great idea for Fred and Christina.

‘‘We probably won’t be able to go on vacation next year,’’ Fred said. ‘‘With the surgery and everything, I’ll want to use any vacation time for that. But, we’ll probably be able to go the year after.’’

And, like any young couple, Fred and Christina want to finally be able to establish their own life together. While grateful for his parents’ support, Piazza said the couple was nearly ready for their own apartment earlier this month — but decided to wait until after the surgery.

‘‘We’ll look at apartments,’’ he said, adding, ‘‘hopefully, we’ll be able to buy a house.’’

Eventually, Fred and Christina hope to have a child, even mentioning adoption if Christina isn’t able to carry her own baby.

‘‘We still have a little mountain left to climb, though,’’ Piazza said. ‘‘Even after the transplant, we’ll have to go back to Buffalo a couple of times to be sure it isn’t rejecting.’’

For now, though, there’s a Thanksgiving meal to prepare and hunting season to enjoy.

Fred Sr. cooked most of the meal Wednesday night, so he can be in the woods today with his sons. Later today, the family will sit around the dining room table and count their blessings.

‘‘I’m glad someone stepped up to the plate,’’ Fred said. ‘‘I’m glad it was my little brother — it’s great that it happened within the family.’’

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