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SUNDAY FOCUS: ORGAN DONATIONS Rogue Valley organ donors give gift of life Rogue Valley residents give the gift of life Comment By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Jan. 17, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Jan. 17, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Four months' pregnant, Jennifer James went in for a routine ultrasound that would tell her whether her baby was a boy or a girl. "They told me, 'He has an enlarged bladder.' It was the first sign something was not right," recalled James, a Jacksonville resident who was working as an international teacher in South Korea at the time. James returned to Oregon for medical care. She later learned her baby had a valve in his urethra that was causing urine to back up and damage his kidneys. James and her doctors counted down the weeks of her pregnancy until her baby could survive outside the womb. She endured four days of induced labor, followed by a cesarean section. Noah James was born alive and crying. "It was a real miracle," Jennifer said. At 6 days old, Noah underwent surgery to remove the urine-blocking valve, then spent a month in the critical care unit for babies at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland. With Noah now nearing 2 years old and in stage four of kidney failure, Jennifer is preparing to give her chubby-cheeked, curious toddler one of her kidneys. His daily life is a struggle, with most of his food coming through a feeding tube that leads into his abdomen. "Doctors say it's inevitable that he'll need a kidney transplant — probably by age 3. The transplant will happen sometime this year," Jennifer said. She went through a lengthy battery of tests and found out she is a compatible donor. Before the mother and son undergo surgery, Jennifer, her family members and friends are in fundraising mode, hoping to raise $200,000 to cover expenses not covered by insurance — including out-of-pocket medical fees, transportation to Portland and the cost of living there temporarily, and a lifetime of immunosuppressant drugs Noah will need to prevent his body from rejecting the donated kidney. The fundraising through the Children's Organ Transplant Association also will cover a second kidney transplant he will need later in life. For more information and to help, visit www.COTAforNoahJ.com . Jennifer said the whole community has come out in support of her son. "He's a huge blessing. As much as it's been a challenge, it's been a real education and a faith-builder," she said. With her son and so many other people needing kidneys and other donated organs, Jennifer urged everyone to consider organ donation. "If there's any way you could possibly do it, do it — please. At least get tested," she said. Like Jennifer, Staci Fisher has answered the call to help a person in need of a kidney. Now a counselor at North Medford High School, Fisher was a college student at Portland State University when her cousin, who was born with a rare kidney disease, went into kidney failure. Both women were in their early 20s. After a long series of tests showed Fisher was a compatible donor, she finished her final exams for the fall term and went in for kidney transplant surgery with her cousin at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. "I remember just laying in the bed and thinking, 'Oh my gosh. This is a big undertaking,' " Fisher said. "I'd had my wisdom teeth out before, but that was all." During the surgery, Fisher's lung collapsed. In the days that followed, Fisher — who was used to going on five-mile runs each day — could barely walk around the hospital. Meanwhile, her cousin was feeling better than she had in years. "They take a healthy person and make them feel so sick and miserable," Fisher said. "They make a sick person feel better. Before the surgery, my cousin looked yellow. She woke up and felt better." After two weeks, Fisher felt better herself, and she was fully healed in three months. In the beginning, she had phantom pain and abdominal discomfort from where surgeons cut through her abdominal wall. That has since faded, leaving her with only occasional itching at the incision sites six years later. Fisher still marvels at the change she was able to make in her cousin's life. "I cured her from her condition. How cool is that? I'm able to watch her travel and live a better life," she said. "When people are sick and in organ failure, other people don't understand how miserable they are." As an organ donor with one kidney remaining, she must maintain a healthy weight, drink plenty of water and avoid a high-protein diet. "I would do it all over again if I could," Fisher said. "I'm bummed out that I can't do it again." Lauren Lynn also has seen firsthand how an organ transplant can change lives. The Rogue Valley rallied behind her daughter, Helen Lynn, who after a major fundraising effort, underwent successful kidney transplant surgery in October 2015 at only 4 years old. "It's the greatest gift you can give. It's been not only a gift for Helen, but the whole family," Lauren said as her daughter drew a picture of a butterfly. For nine months, Helen was hooked up to a dialysis machine for 10 to 12 hours every night. "It means hours of reading until they fall asleep on the machine," Lauren said. "She had a lot of stomach pain. She ended up having hernias. You are always making sure the line doesn't tie around their neck at night. It's very stressful. You as a parent are waking up every few hours to make sure they are OK. It's a lot of restless nights." Helen's kidneys were damaged after she was poisoned by E. coli bacteria from an unidentified source in 2013. Alaska resident Lori Moyer heard of the family's plight through a mutual friend and underwent surgery at OHSU to donate a kidney to the little girl. Doctors are still working to adjust Helen's post-transplant medications, and she will need a new kidney later in life. But Lauren said her daughter is feeling much better. "This is such a relief," she said. "It's so nice to be on the other side." Dee Anne Everson, executive director for United Way of Jackson County, said her family has been touched by organ donation. Her sister, who lives in Arizona, received a kidney from a living donor, her niece, and a liver from a man who had been killed at age 27 in an accident. Everson said the young man's organs saved eight people's lives. "In the moment of getting word that there was a liver for my sister, I felt profound joy and deep sorrow because I knew as joyful as my family was, there was another family in deep sorrow," she said. Everson said people who receive an organ from a deceased donor are grateful, but also experience survivor's guilt. Everson's family does not know the identity of the young man who died, but they have sent letters to his family to be delivered by an international donor organization. "We don't even know who they are," she said. "We just write, 'Dear Donor Family.' " Everson said the gift of organs saved her sister's life and affected her whole family. "My sister gets to be around for her children and see them go to high school and college," she said. Everson urged people to sign up to be organ donors. Oregon Driver & Motor Vehicle Services allows people to designate themselves as organ donors in the event of death. People also can sign up to be an organ donor at www.donatelifenw.org and learn about being a live or deceased donor. Everson said patients are dying every day as they wait for an organ, but people can help change that by donating their organs. "One of my favorite expressions is, 'You can't take them with you,' " Everson said. Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-776-4486 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous . By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Jan. 17, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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