Document text
Man's kidney transplant exceeds resources Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Pamela Dale, right, is donating one of her kidneys to her nephew, Ricky Lima, who has had kidney trouble since he was 18 months old. Dale's daughter is trying to raise the money to provide the pre- and post-surgery care her cousin will need. By BILL KETTLER For the price of a good used car, Ricky Lima could miss a chance for a new lease on life. The 20-year-old Applegate man needs $7,000 to keep his appointment with a kidney-transplant surgeon at the end of March. His aunt, Pamela Dale of Medford, is ready to give him one of her kidneys, and insurance will pay for the transplant surgery. But the family doesn't have the cash for the pre- and post-operative expenses that insurance doesn't cover. "Ricky turns 21 on March 23, and three days later we're going in," said Dale, a single mom who drives a Head-Start bus. "It tore me up to think his transplant could have to wait." Getting a new kidney involves more than just the complicated transplant surgery and a few days' recovery time in the hospital. Lima will need to spend as much as eight weeks in Portland after surgery, and travel to Oregon Health & Science University regularly. "They can't just prescribe him drugs and send him back to Medford," said his mom, Denise Lima, a hairdresser. Doctors will need to see him every other day and adjust his anti-rejection drugs as they watch how he responds. He'll also need someone to care for him and get him to the hospital. A living kidney donor has some down-time, too. Dale will need to stay in Portland for a while, recovering from kidney-removal surgery. The families' insurance covers none of those expenses. Lima has had kidney problems all his life. When he was 18 months old, doctors discovered he had bilateral reflux nephropathy. Cysts in his urinary system prevented his bladder from completely emptying. Urine that recycled through his system damaged his kidneys, bladder and ureters (the tubes that carry urine to the bladder). He endured 19 operations as surgeons attempted to fix his urinary system. Doctors took part of his stomach to make him a new bladder. He spent so much time in hospitals that when he finally graduated from South Medford High School in 2001 he had turned 20. Lima's kidneys "went from bad to worse over the course of his childhood and teenage years," said Dr. Bruce Van Zee, Lima's physician. His kidneys finally failed completely last fall. He has been on dialysis treatment three times a week ever since, joining about 200 people in the region whose kidneys have failed. Dale knew instantly that she would offer him one of her kidneys. "I always thought if Ricky ever needed a kidney he could have one of mine," she said. "I want him to have the experiences I had. I want him to fall in love. I want him to have children. I want him to have some dreams come true." "She's been a big part of his life," said Denise Lima, who couldn't donate a kidney of her own because she herself recently had surgery. "Pam's always been his favorite aunt, long before this. I'm amazed she's willing to do this, what with her own children and being a single mom. She's really putting her own life on hold to do this." Living donors such as Dale account for a growing share of donated kidneys. Of the 170 transplants done annually at OHSU, about 45 percent are from living donors. Of those, nearly three-fourths come from a relative, said Linda Cannard, transplant coordinator. Cannard said relatives often provide a better genetic match for a kidney transplant, which means the kidney will last longer than an organ from a stranger. A kidney from a living donor will also probably last longer than a kidney harvested from a cadaver. Dale's kidney, for example, could function for as long as 25 years inside Lima's body, while a cadaver kidney might last just 7 to 10 years. While the families tried to figure out how they would raise the money, Dale's 18-year-old daughter Jessica announced she would raise the cash as her senior project at South Medford High School. She went to Ricky's old school (Washington Elementary) and asked children to contribute spare change. She's been distributing yellow "Ribbons for Ricky" to South students and asking for donations. "It's very stressful," she said, "because it's so personal to me - he's my cousin. This is the biggest responsibility I've ever taken on by myself. Sometimes I don't know what to do with myself. Sometimes I want to laugh. Sometimes I want to cry. Sometimes I want to scream. Buoyed by a contribution from an uncle in California, Jessica Dale had raised nearly $2,000 by the end of last week. The object of all this attention, who wants to study computers at Rogue Community College next year, still seemed a little overwhelmed last week by everything that was happening around him. "I didn't know what to think at first," Ricky Lima said during a dialysis treatment. "I think it's great so many people just want to help." Contributions can be made for Ricky Lima to Wells Fargo bank account 6684820530. Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.