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My husband, William “Eddie” Lett was diagnosed with a degenerative kidney disorder known as IgA nephropathy 27 years ago. IgA nephropathy, also known as Berger's disease, is a kidney disease that occurs when an antibody called immunoglobulin A (IgA) lodges in the kidneys. This results in local inflammation that, over time, hampers the kidneys' ability to filter waste, excess water and electrolytes from your blood.
When he was diagnosed, he was given ten years. He managed to make it, despite the odds and prognosis, for nearly two decades beyond that before his kidneys finally succumbed and he had to start peritoneal dialysis every night in our home. Eddie has remained on dialysis and on line for a kidney transplant for nearly four years now. Every year, we would attend his annual checkup hoping that we would hear that a kidney was coming soon. Every year, we’d be told that there would be another one-to-two years added to his wait time.
His response has always been the same: “Well, there are others sicker than I am and I can wait my turn.”
My husband is the most caring and loving man that you could ever hope to meet. He has never, to this day, let his illness stop him from doing the things he enjoys doing. He has been a machinist all of his life and has continued to work four days a week. We strive to enjoy, as best we can, our marriage of 41 years and spend as much time as we can with our three wonderful children and three wonderful grandchildren. We both consider ourselves fortunate that he has been able to live a reasonably normal life during that time with the occasional “bad day” now and then. Not everyone in his position is that lucky.
Over the past four years, Eddie has had some wonderful people step forward to try and become his live donor. One of the first people to step forward was his loving cousin; after going through her physical examinations, the doctors found that she had several swollen lymph glands throughout her body. The second person, a stranger to us, heard through a mutual friend about Eddie and decided to go through testing to be approved. She was soon told that, unbeknownst to her all her life, she only had one functioning kidney. In our eyes, we feel like Eddie has saved two lives. We assumed that God had a plan and that plan was for Eddie to help these two women and, in time, He would answer our prayers.
Those prayers have been answered; another angel has been sent his way.
Stacie Williamson heard about Eddie’s story from her family one night while they sat playing cards together and asked aloud why she hadn't heard anything about this before. She came to the immediate decision that should become Eddie’s live donor. She submitted to the rigorous examinations that all live donors must be subjected to and came away as a healthy, perfect match. She never once doubted that God would see her through this journey. He has and my husband will receive her kidney on or about November 11, 2015.
What do you say to someone who would just decide to save a person's life? “Thank you.” doesn't seem even remotely adequate.
There remains a great deal of uncertainty in the days and months ahead, but what I am certain of is that, from the moment that we were notified that Stacie had been confirmed as kidney donor, our family once again found the twinkle in our eyes and the smiles on our faces that were sometimes hard to come by these past few years. Our faith, hope and love of one another has always remained strong. We hope this story will inspire others to consider donating to cover the medical expenses that we will be facing as a family after the transplantation is complete and that, by sharing our journey over the upcoming months, this will inspire more people to consider organ donation.
We thank you for your time and consideration.
Cheryl Lett and Family
For more information about how you can become a live donor, please visit http://www.americantransplantfoundation.org.
For more information about kidney research and how you can become involved, please visit http://www.kidney.org .
When he was diagnosed, he was given ten years. He managed to make it, despite the odds and prognosis, for nearly two decades beyond that before his kidneys finally succumbed and he had to start peritoneal dialysis every night in our home. Eddie has remained on dialysis and on line for a kidney transplant for nearly four years now. Every year, we would attend his annual checkup hoping that we would hear that a kidney was coming soon. Every year, we’d be told that there would be another one-to-two years added to his wait time.
His response has always been the same: “Well, there are others sicker than I am and I can wait my turn.”
My husband is the most caring and loving man that you could ever hope to meet. He has never, to this day, let his illness stop him from doing the things he enjoys doing. He has been a machinist all of his life and has continued to work four days a week. We strive to enjoy, as best we can, our marriage of 41 years and spend as much time as we can with our three wonderful children and three wonderful grandchildren. We both consider ourselves fortunate that he has been able to live a reasonably normal life during that time with the occasional “bad day” now and then. Not everyone in his position is that lucky.
Over the past four years, Eddie has had some wonderful people step forward to try and become his live donor. One of the first people to step forward was his loving cousin; after going through her physical examinations, the doctors found that she had several swollen lymph glands throughout her body. The second person, a stranger to us, heard through a mutual friend about Eddie and decided to go through testing to be approved. She was soon told that, unbeknownst to her all her life, she only had one functioning kidney. In our eyes, we feel like Eddie has saved two lives. We assumed that God had a plan and that plan was for Eddie to help these two women and, in time, He would answer our prayers.
Those prayers have been answered; another angel has been sent his way.
Stacie Williamson heard about Eddie’s story from her family one night while they sat playing cards together and asked aloud why she hadn't heard anything about this before. She came to the immediate decision that should become Eddie’s live donor. She submitted to the rigorous examinations that all live donors must be subjected to and came away as a healthy, perfect match. She never once doubted that God would see her through this journey. He has and my husband will receive her kidney on or about November 11, 2015.
What do you say to someone who would just decide to save a person's life? “Thank you.” doesn't seem even remotely adequate.
There remains a great deal of uncertainty in the days and months ahead, but what I am certain of is that, from the moment that we were notified that Stacie had been confirmed as kidney donor, our family once again found the twinkle in our eyes and the smiles on our faces that were sometimes hard to come by these past few years. Our faith, hope and love of one another has always remained strong. We hope this story will inspire others to consider donating to cover the medical expenses that we will be facing as a family after the transplantation is complete and that, by sharing our journey over the upcoming months, this will inspire more people to consider organ donation.
We thank you for your time and consideration.
Cheryl Lett and Family
For more information about how you can become a live donor, please visit http://www.americantransplantfoundation.org.
For more information about kidney research and how you can become involved, please visit http://www.kidney.org .