Transplant patient thankful for every day

Adriane Elrod knew Leigh Pritchard well enough to make small talk when the two women crossed paths at work.

A brief conversation, matching blood types and an impromptu decision would change their relationship forever.

At 34 years old, Elrod needed a kidney transplant. Pritchard wanted to give Elrod one of hers. Why? There’s just something about Elrod, Pritchard said. A serenity, a glow and a will to fight that moved Pritchard.

“Have you ever met Adriane? That’s why,” the 50-year-old Kinston resident said.

Elrod doesn’t look sick.

In fact, the petite blond seems the picture of health. Quick to smile and laugh, she has always led an active lifestyle. But seven years ago, Elrod had her first kidney transplant.

“For me, it’s never been ‘Why me? Why me? Why me?,’” Elrod said. “It is me. It’s part of me ... It’s just one of the things about me.”

But it doesn’t define her.

Nationally, there are close to 100,000 people waiting for an organ transplant, and a new person is added to a transplant list every 18 minutes, according to statistics from the Alabama Organ Center. Nineteen people die each day waiting for an organ. In Alabama, there are more than 3,100 people waiting for an organ transplant.

Elrod grew up in Fort Payne in the northeast corner of Alabama. At 26 and working in Anniston, she was an active mountain biker and always on the go. She was rarely sick, but Elrod was fighting fatigue and nausea. She attributed it to a recent cold. Still, she felt well enough to ride her mountain bike one February day — the day she crashed her bike and rolled down a cliff. She simply brushed herself off and went on with her day. The next morning her vision became distorted while driving to work. Buildings and cars looked twisted. She assumed her bike crash did more harm than she realized and went to see her optometrist.

Her optometrist noticed swelling in her eyes. He checked Elrod’s blood pressure — it was 250 over 160. The optometrist called an ambulance. By the time she got to a hospital, Elrod’s kidneys were shutting down. Doctors thought the bike accident had damaged her kidneys. But tests showed something else was going on, something doctors couldn’t find. What they did know was without a transplant, Elrod’s kidneys would fail her.

She was transferred to UAB Hospital in Birmingham.

Elrod’s family members were tested, and her older brother was a perfect match. On Oct. 15, 2002, Elrod received one of his kidneys. Everything went perfect for both patients. Unlike the past when a live kidney donor faced a long incision across the back and sometimes the removal of a rib, kidney transplants are not as traumatic thanks to laparoscopic surgery. Elrod’s brother was up and about in no time as was Elrod.

“I was a star patient,” she said. “ ... It wasn’t long before I was back on my bike.”

After she fully recuperated, Elrod moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, for a job. She moved back to Alabama when the cold got too much for her. She took a job four years ago with Sysco in Geneva as a marketing representative. Life was good in Dothan with her two weimaraners, a Labrador, a blind albino turtle, a fish, a cat named Lo Mein and a boyfriend who also works for Sysco.

“I was just enjoying life and thankful every day,” Elrod said. “ ... I felt so blessed because I knew the gift that had been given me.”

The kidneys are bean-shaped organs about the size of a fist located under the rib cage near the middle of the back. They filter wastes out of the blood — waste that would otherwise build up and damage the body, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. The kidneys also produce vital hormones for several of the body’s functions, such as regulating blood pressure.

Even with the important role kidneys play in the body, a person can live with just one kidney.

A person with two healthy kidneys would have 100-percent kidney function. When kidney function falls below 25 percent, serious health problems occur. And when function drops below 10 to 15 percent, dialysis or a kidney transplant is necessary for survival.

Since her transplant, Elrod has had routine blood tests to gauge her kidney function. About a year ago, tests started showing signs that Elrod’s transplanted kidney wasn’t functioning as it should. A needle biopsy of the kidney finally revealed Elrod’s kidney disease — IgA nephropathy. It destroyed Elrod’s kidneys nearly eight years ago and eluded doctors. Now it was destroying the kidney she had received from her brother.

IgA nephropathy is a kidney disease that occurs with the protein IgA, which helps the body fight infections, settles in the kidneys. It can occur at any age, although doctors don’t know why it happens. After years of deposits, the IgA protein could cause the kidneys to leak blood or protein into the urine. Over time, the kidneys can become damaged. About 25 percent of adults with IgA nephropathy develop total kidney failure and 5 to 10 percent of children, according to National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Elrod’s kidney function fell to 12 percent, making a second kidney transplant necessary.

“I’ve never been mad about it,” Elrod said. “People ask me that a lot. But, really, I feel blessed. I’ve been so sick in my life, but spiritually I just feel so alive.”

She’s on two transplant waiting lists — at UAB Hospital and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.

Elrod never advertised her previous kidney transplant or her current health crisis. But word got out to her co-workers at Sysco, who began to look for ways to help.

Pritchard, the mother of two adult daughters, is a scanning associate in Sysco’s information technology department. One day, Pritchard stopped Elrod to talk about her health problems. She asked about Elrod’s blood type. It’s A-positive, the same as Pritchard. In an instant Pritchard made a decision. She wanted to be tested to see if she could donate one of her kidneys to Elrod.

Pritchard discussed the idea with her family but had pretty much made up her mind to do it if she could. One call to the transplant coordinator at UAB and Pritchard was having blood drawn. After three more blood tests, doctors at UAB said Pritchard was a match. All that was left was for Pritchard to make a trip to Birmingham for more medical tests.

“I wanted to help her so bad,” Pritchard said. “I wanted to do something for her ... I just felt like there was something I needed to do for her, and I did what I could. I let God guide me.”

Finding a match for Elrod that her body won’t reject is a little more challenging the second time around. She is what is called a highly-sensitized patient. Her immune system contains a high level of antibodies that will attack a transplanted kidney even if it is a perfect match. But an intravenous therapy can help reduce the antibodies in Elrod’s body and desensitize her immune system. The process will take three weeks, limiting Elrod’s chances of a successful transplant from a kidney donor who is deceased since such a kidney would have to be transplanted immediately. A live donor kidney transplant, however, could be scheduled and timed with the therapy.

“There’s no guarantee,” Elrod said. “But there’s no guarantee on anything we do.”

Both Elrod and Pritchard were upbeat. Elrod promised to lead a life Pritchard could be proud to have saved. They were hoping Elrod could have a new kidney by Christmas. Their good spirits were dashed, however, after Pritchard had her medical evaluation at UAB. Turns out, one of Pritchard’s kidneys is undersized. The smaller kidney would do neither Elrod nor Pritchard any good on its own.

Pritchard was so devastated she couldn’t even face Elrod. For Elrod, it was like a punch in her soul when she finally did get the news.

Until another donor can be found, Elrod will undergo peritoneal dialysis through a tube surgically inserted in her belly to remove waste from her blood. She’s not giving up.

“I want a kidney,” Elrod said. “I want to be free from this and have a normal life and do things girls my age are doing ... I don’t want diamonds and pearls, I just want a family, and I want to make a difference.”

Elrod still views Pritchard as an angel and doesn’t think all they went through was in vain. It got Elrod talking more about her illness and the importance of organ donation. Other Sysco co-workers checked into getting tested to see if they would be a match. Even some of Elrod’s customers became organ donors after hearing about her need for a kidney.

“Who knows where my touch will reach,” she said.
————————————
Want to help?
If you want to be tested to see if you might be a match for Adriane Elrod, call transplant coordinator Lucy at UAB hospital at (205) 975-9200.
————————————
Transplant patient waiting list as of Oct. 30 by organ needed
Kidney — U.S., 82,364; Alabama, 3,203
Liver — U.S., 15,915; Alabama, 75
Pancreas — U.S., 1,488; Alabama, 21
Kidney/Pancreas — U.S., 2,220; Alabama, 41
Heart — U.S., 2,884; Alabama, 51
Lung — U.S., 1,863; Alabama, 45
Heart/Lung — U.S., 83; Alabama, 6
Intestine — U.S., 229; Alabama, 0
Total* — U.S., 104,601; Alabama, 3,385

* (Totals may be less than sums due to patients in multiple categories)
Source: Alabama Organ Center/United Network for Organ Sharing