Ellicott City woman has hope after Kidney transplant
KIDNEY, From page 1 In this anonymous arrangement, living donors agree to swap kidneys so their intended recipients get organs that are more compatible. In some cases, there’s a long chain of donor-recipient pairs.
While Hopkins has participated in exchanges since 2001, Allen said the program opened up a whole new world for her and she wants more people to know about it.
“I would tell anybody who’s trying to find a living kidney donor — with T-shirts or Facebook pages — that paired exchange means blood type doesn’t have to be a factor,” she said.
One month after their champagne toast in November, Allen and Kendall got word the transplant coordinator had gotten “a hit” on a compatible donor-recipient pair.
“Finding a paired kidney exchange can take years, so we were incredibly fortunate,”
Allen said.
Originally set for Jan. 15, the four procedures were postponed to April 9 while Kendall recovered from a health issue.
Kendall underwent surgery at Johns Hopkins to donate her kidney to the transplant patient waiting in Richmond, Virginia, while the donor known only to the patient and medical team in Richmond had surgery in Virginia to donate a kidney to Allen.
The kidneys were rushed by ambulances traveling in opposite directions and transplant surgery was successfully done on both recipients later the same day. Rex Allen said he remains overwhelmed with gratitude.
“When I couldn’t be the one to save my wife, that was quite a setback,” said the retired construction superintendent. “Now, it’s like a light switch has been turned on in our lives.”
Paul Kendall, an attorney, described what he’d felt on the day of the surgeries, which lasted about four hours apiece.
“It was a remarkably profound experience for all of us,” he said, before getting choked up. “Every single action we take as human beings has a ripple effect … and that good can be the salvation of the world.”
Jeannette Kendall said she had resolved not to tell too many people she had donated a kidney, preferring to avoid the limelight.
But a comment Allen’s daughter made on social media changed her mind.
“Willow wrote that she is once again looking forward to walking down the aisle and having her mother see her grandchildren someday, and that was further than her brain had gone in a long time,” Kendall said.
“That’s when I decided I needed to be more public about kidney donation so I might inspire somebody else,” she said.
“How many times do you get the opportunity to save someone’s life?”
Kendall spent three days in the hospital after the surgery and worked at home for a month. After six weeks, she felt like herself again.
Allen quickly regained the color in her face after being white as chalk and soon felt like she and Frank – her name for her new kidney — could “get out and start running down the road.”
As tempting as that idea was, common sense prevailed. Allen is taking 11 prescriptions totaling 26 pills each day, though that number will gradually decrease. She is working at home and looking forward to returning to the office in July.
“Before the surgery, I was really focused on the present because I believed today might be all I had,” Allen said, her words clogged with emotion. “But thanks to Jeannette’s selfless act, I have hope. She is my superhero.”
While Hopkins has participated in exchanges since 2001, Allen said the program opened up a whole new world for her and she wants more people to know about it.
“I would tell anybody who’s trying to find a living kidney donor — with T-shirts or Facebook pages — that paired exchange means blood type doesn’t have to be a factor,” she said.
One month after their champagne toast in November, Allen and Kendall got word the transplant coordinator had gotten “a hit” on a compatible donor-recipient pair.
“Finding a paired kidney exchange can take years, so we were incredibly fortunate,”
Allen said.
Originally set for Jan. 15, the four procedures were postponed to April 9 while Kendall recovered from a health issue.
Kendall underwent surgery at Johns Hopkins to donate her kidney to the transplant patient waiting in Richmond, Virginia, while the donor known only to the patient and medical team in Richmond had surgery in Virginia to donate a kidney to Allen.
The kidneys were rushed by ambulances traveling in opposite directions and transplant surgery was successfully done on both recipients later the same day. Rex Allen said he remains overwhelmed with gratitude.
“When I couldn’t be the one to save my wife, that was quite a setback,” said the retired construction superintendent. “Now, it’s like a light switch has been turned on in our lives.”
Paul Kendall, an attorney, described what he’d felt on the day of the surgeries, which lasted about four hours apiece.
“It was a remarkably profound experience for all of us,” he said, before getting choked up. “Every single action we take as human beings has a ripple effect … and that good can be the salvation of the world.”
Jeannette Kendall said she had resolved not to tell too many people she had donated a kidney, preferring to avoid the limelight.
But a comment Allen’s daughter made on social media changed her mind.
“Willow wrote that she is once again looking forward to walking down the aisle and having her mother see her grandchildren someday, and that was further than her brain had gone in a long time,” Kendall said.
“That’s when I decided I needed to be more public about kidney donation so I might inspire somebody else,” she said.
“How many times do you get the opportunity to save someone’s life?”
Kendall spent three days in the hospital after the surgery and worked at home for a month. After six weeks, she felt like herself again.
Allen quickly regained the color in her face after being white as chalk and soon felt like she and Frank – her name for her new kidney — could “get out and start running down the road.”
As tempting as that idea was, common sense prevailed. Allen is taking 11 prescriptions totaling 26 pills each day, though that number will gradually decrease. She is working at home and looking forward to returning to the office in July.
“Before the surgery, I was really focused on the present because I believed today might be all I had,” Allen said, her words clogged with emotion. “But thanks to Jeannette’s selfless act, I have hope. She is my superhero.”
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