Transplant Patients Speak

Transplant Patients Speak

TRANSPLANT PATIENTS SPEAK

Photo #1: portrait. Caption: Eivind Frost has had

his kidney transplant 26 years.

Photo #2: portrait. Caption: Karen Mayry has had

her kidney transplant 23 years.

Photo #3: portrait. Caption: Ken Carstens has had

his kidney transplant 24 years.

Photo #4: portrait. Caption: Betty Walker has had

her kidney transplant almost 22 years.

Photo #5 (located within article): portrait.

Caption: Linda Bingham has had her dual transplant (kidney and pancreas) for 18 years.

FROM THE EDITOR: Kidney disease is a frequent

complication of diabetes. Perhaps 40 % of all long-term diabetics will develop it, and

approximately half of those may require either dialysis or kidney transplant to preserve

life. I heartily endorse kidney transplantation--for the improved quality of life it

brings. The following people also endorse it--and they should know, as they have lived

with transplants for years.

Eivind Frost

Eivind Frost, of Great Falls, Montana, was

diagnosed with diabetes in 1946, when he was 21 years old. Twenty five years later, the

Mayo Clinic, checking him out for loss of energy, found he had a lot of protein in his

urine. He was told his kidneys were failing. The doctor told him he'd need a kidney

transplant in one or two years.

Eivind received his transplant (from a ten-year

old child, he was told) on April 24, 1973, at University of Minnesota Hospital (now known

as Fairview-University Medical Center) Transplant Clinic, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The transplant went well. "I did pretty well

what they told me to do, and I got along well," Eivind reports. "The first day,

they had me walking the halls. I was holding a pillow against my belly, and the IV

connections were hooked up to me. I was supposed to be there 14 days, but they ran out of

beds... They told me I could go home after 13 days. They said if my new kidney lasted

three months, they would guarantee it to last five years--but it has lasted twenty-six

years! My kidney is in great shape--and so am I!"

Ken Carstens

From Virginia, Minnesota, Ken Carstens was

diagnosed with diabetes when he was ten years old. On September 11, 1975, he received a

kidney transplant, at University of Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis. As Ken has type-O

negative blood, the odds on a good match from a cadaver were poor; it would have been long

wait. Ken's sister donated one of her kidneys.

Ken was on dialysis about 3 months before the

operation. "I had some bad times on dialysis," he says. "I started

developing quite bad neuropathy in one hand, but after the transplant, it gradually went

away... It has been 24 years now, and I'd make the same choices again."

Karen Mayry

From Rapid City, South Dakota, Karen was

diagnosed with diabetes at age 11, while in the fifth grade. "When it became time for

my transplant, my brother David Richard immediately said that he would donate a kidney to

me, if our blood types matched at all, and of course they did, and we did," she says.

"I went in to the hospital weighing 143 lbs

which was at least 25 lbs over my normal weight. And I had no clothes to wear at that

point because everything I owned was too small. I came out of the hospital weighing 103

lbs, and still had no clothes to wear because everything was too big!

"On January 12, 1977, 23 years ago, I got my

transplant at the University of Minnesota Hospital. And after the transplant, I loved it

because I only needed like three hours of sleep, I was so hyped up. I just can't imagine

somebody making the choice to not have the transplant when they have the option. If it

were up to me and I lost this one and had to go for another one, I would take that

opportunity as well."

Betty Walker

Betty Walker, from Jefferson City, Missouri,

says, "In spite of the fact that I was diagnosed with diabetes at age five, my

childhood was more or less "normal," but in January 1978, I was confronted with

diabetic renal failure. When I went on hemodialysis, most of the time I felt very ill. I

was so nauseated that I could not eat. My social life was nonexistent, and I no longer

enjoyed any hobbies. I was so tired that most of the time between dialysis sessions I

spent in bed. Life went on like that for about six and one-half months. When I decided to

have a kidney transplant, I figured I had nothing to lose. Dialysis was always there to

fall back on.

"On July 13, 1978, I was 'born again.' My

mother, Fran Bator, gave me life when I was born and gave it to me again when she became

my kidney donor. The transplant was done at Yale-New Haven Hospital. It should be called a

'transformation,' because that is what it was for me.

"In closing, I would just like to say:

'Never give up, and don't let anything get you down.'"

Lenny Ruygt

From Santa Rosa, California, Lenny Ruygt was

three years old when she was diagnosed with diabetes. "I don't remember back that

far," she says. "I developed kidney problems when I was about 16. And they found

out it was due to a minor kidney problem, obviously at that point. Then I spent 10 or 11

years in a sort of continual downward spiral; I hit lots of plateaus, so it wasn't like a

sudden plunge.

"In April of 1979, the plan was that they

would get me ready for dialysis, probably within the next six months. And then in March

1980, on St. Patrick's Day, I received a transplant, from a living related donor, and my

kidney is still working just fine--no rejection episodes whatsoever. My kidneys functioned

from the time I got off the operating table. I have done real well--it will be twenty

years in March."

Linda Bingham

Linda Bingham, from Cincinnati, Ohio, was

diagnosed with diabetes in 1958, at the age of 10. About 25 years later, she started

showing the symptoms of kidney failure. She chose transplantation. On December 10, 1981,

Linda received a dual transplant (kidney and pancreas), at University of Cincinnati

Hospital--and is now the world's longest-surviving dual transplant recipient.

"It has been 18 years," she says.

"My outcome has been wonderful. I know it's a personal decision, but I didn't even

give it a second thought. I said, all my life, that if I could get rid of my diabetes, I'd

be OK. And I got rid of it. I've not had anything major happen to me since the

transplant."

Linda feels very positive about transplantation:

"If I were to lose this transplant, I would definitely go for another; I wouldn't

hesitate. There's no guarantee it'll work out, but it's a chance you have to take. I view

it as a miracle..."

VOICE DISTRIBUTORS NEEDED

Since the VOICE is now offered free, our Diabetes

Action Network will provide extra copies to anyone wanting to help spread the word. We

will gladly send from five to five hundred-plus copies each quarter to be used as free

literature. Medical facilities can order as needed for patients. Individuals can usually

place copies of the VOICE in libraries, pharmacies, hospitals, doctors' offices, or other

public locations.

Diabetes education is essential. Anyone who

distributes the VOICE will be helping people with diabetes, and their families, to learn

about the disease and its ramifications; to learn that they have options; and that their

world is far greater than whatever "limits" may be imposed by the disease. If

you would like to help spread the word by distributing the publication, please contact:

Voice of the Diabetic, 811 Cherry Street, Suite 309, Columbia, MO 65201; telephone: (573)

875-8911, fax: (573) 875-8902. NOTE: Please provide a phone number so we can reach you.