Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Saved -Another Life!

My family and I received some news yesterday that was good news but still scary.

A close friend of Mandy's was enroute to a hospital in Pittsburgh, about to undergo a kidney transplant. A match had finally been found for her, the kidney was available. All that remained was for her to get there and have the surgery then wait to see how things transpired after that.

She -the recipient -called my son this morning to report to him that they surgery was done -all had gone well -and she was doing fine this morning!

Hip hip hooray, Hallelujah and Amen, ten times over (at least) again, Amen!

Lacey has been receiving dialysis for at least the past three years now. A young mother of two children, tiny in stature to begin with, she was down to next to nothing lately. It was becoming more and more imperative that a donor be located for her as soon as possible.

About two months ago, my son had decided he wanted to try to donate a kidney to her. He went through part of the testing process but was then eliminated as he wasn't a match for her.

So, it was back to the drawing boards once again for her and waiting. And waiting.

Until yesterday when she got the call to report to the hospital as they had a kidney for her and it appeared to be a good match.

Sadly, the family also learned that this kidney came from a gentleman who had just recently signed up as an organ donor and had taken his own life.
That one had died to restore life to Lacey is the difficult aspect of this process.

But the fact that person had thought enough in advance to designate what could be used of his body in order that another person would regain their health, live for how many years to come is the beautiful part of that man's life.

He's restored a mother to two children, a daughter to a mother, sister to a brother and life itself, with all the promises that come with that, to Lacey!

God bless you, whoever you were and may God be with your family and friends. May they know what a wonderful gift you bestowed on others and that will resonate for many years to come with Lacey, her family, her childre especially as well as with her many friends.

I know Lacey is not out of the woods yet -far from it -but at least one day after the transplant, she says all is functioning fine and she's doing great. All of us here just hope and pray that her healing continues on a good plane.

And God bless those wonderful doctors down in Pittsburgh too!

19 comments:

Sandee said...

Bittersweet story for sure. Lacey is in my prayers honey.

Have a terrific day. Big hug. :)

none said...

Great news!

Keep us updated regarding her recovery.

Keith said...

Amen! This post made me SMILE BIG!

fermicat said...

That is wonderful news for her. It is always sad when someone takes their own life, and so poignant in this case that the person made a point of taking care of others.

Jenn said...

Sucide is no way out but it appears that his way out was her way in. That is an odd way to look at it. Did they give a reason why he commited sucide?

lattégirl said...

Mysterious ways...

Travis Cody said...

I'm very sorry for the gentleman's family. But how wonderful for your friend.

HalfCrazy said...

Glad to know everything went successful for Lacey! As for that man, wherever he is, he died with something to be proud of.

Morgan Mandel said...

As is often the case, amidst joy there can be sorrow.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Paula said...

Such wonderful news for Lacey, but such a bittersweet story. So sad that the gentlemen felt his life was not worth living, but a blessing that he did choose to save a life in the process. Blessings and prayers for both families...

Smalltown RN said...

I like reading about this especially after my post on organ donation....I forgot to mention in my post about how my sister was a bone marrow donor for my other sister who had cancer....so yes organ donation or bone marrow donation are truly a gift of life! I am so glad their friend is doing so well....

Rune Eide said...

Since I have a had a heart transplant myself (five years ago) I can only congratulate your daughter with the successful operation and wish her every possible luck in the coming period.

However - I am a bit disturbed about the way knowledge of the donor is passed on to the recipient. In Norway (and I believe Europe in general) that is not allowed. It is HIGHLY classified information and in my opinion should remain so.

There is in my opinion no valid reason for the recipient to know anything about the donor (or vice versa when it comes ro the donors family) - your account seems to bear me out. I know absolutely nothing about my donor: Neither sex, nationality (there is a Scandinavian/European cooperation), age, cause of death or anything. Nor do I want to know.

But that does not mean that my gratitude is less - on the contrary, it is greater.

Mary said...

Jeni,

Wonderful and sad at the same time. Yes, the young man was thoughtful enough to sign his organ donor card. I wish Lacey all the best and will be praying for her.

Now to read the previous post. Have a great day.
Blessings,
Mary

Diva's Thoughts said...

These kinds of stories always have a double edged sword. Bittersweet as the first commenter said.

I will keep my fingers crossed that Lcaey makes a full recovery and lives a long life with her family.

terri said...

Lacey will be in my prayers, as will the family of the donor. The fact that she is doing so well so soon... hopefully that's a good sign. Please continue to keep us posted on her progress.

Linda said...

Lacey must have such mixed emotions about this but my feeling is that if the guy was going to take his own life, then I applaud him for having taken the foresight to be an organ donor. Just because he didn't want to use what God gave him any longer doesn't mean that someone else could.

Best wishes to Lacey and may her benefactor have found peace.

Dr.John said...

I felt sorry for the man who killed himself even as I felt happy for Lacy.
Life is so strange. Good comes out of ill.

Suldog said...

God bless them all! What wonderful news!

Wendy said...

I'm thrilled for Lacy. It's a shame it was a suicide, and how sad that he was thinking of others enough to have done the donor card. I know she will appreciate him forever.

Organ donors rock!