She's His Wife, and Now She's His Life: A Transplant Tale in Texas

After Sept. 14, Angela and Josh Will be Even Closer Than in This Photo Booth.

It is by no means a stretch of the imagination to say that today – Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017 – is the most important day in the marriage of Angela DeLa Bullard and Josh Bailey. More important, even, than their wedding day.

A life-changing day.

In all likelihood, a life saving day.

For today is the day that Angela is donating one of her kidneys to her beloved husband in Austin, Texas. Josh has experienced the miracle of a kidney transplant once before, but last November he received the soul-crushing report that his adopted organ from 13 years ago was functioning at only about 12 percent of capacity, and dropping fast. (Did you know that your kidneys, marvelous examples of God's handiwork that they are, still can serve your body quite adequately at 60 percent?)

Since Thanksgiving of last year, Josh has been on dialysis three times a week while continuing to work and lead a relatively normal life. And believe me, folks, that ain't easy.

After months of uncertainty trying to coordinate insurance and other issues, last April the couple began their search for a new donor. And just two months later, they received the miraculous news that  Angela was a match!

Now this is a rare and wonderful thing indeed, and as any believer would tell you, no coincidence or phenomenal stroke of luck. The Almighty's hand is clearly doing its thing here.

When my time came to look for a donor, my wife, Karen, refused to get tested. She employed logic over love. "If I get tested and I'm a match," she reasoned, "who's going to take care of you? I couldn't. We'd both be laid up recovering at the same time."

Josh, Angela, and Not the Family Pet. 

That's the challenge facing Josh and Angela. "Our original plan was that I would continue to work and be a caregiver for Josh during the first steps of his recovery, but now we will be traveling that path together," she writes. "I am beyond willing to do anything within my ability to aid in making my best friend and partner feel better. As the saying goes, however, time is money."

So they established a Go Fund Me page to help defray the medical bills and living expenses that are sure to mount while they recuperate. Their modest goal was $1,200, just to get them through a month or so, but in this remarkable period of America's generosity that figure has more than doubled and continues to grow. Amazing.
I'm making a donation today. I invite you to join me, but even if you are not so inclined, please consider sharing this post with your social media circles. Here's the link for you to make a contribution: https://www.gofundme.com/joshandangela

Now, I have never met Angela and Josh. Prior to today, I couldn't have picked them out of a photo array. However, we have a friend in common: Josh went to college with my former churchmate and recently repatriated Texan, Dr. Frank Engel. Frank is one of the finest men currently walking the earth, and if he likes Josh and Angela, then so do I.

"You'll notice they only asked for one month's expenses, and they've surpassed that," Frank says. "It helps when you're a swell guy."

And besides, I kind of know how he feels.

God bless you both.

UPDATE: On Sept. 23, 2017, Matt Bailey posted to Facebook: "We are happy to report that 10 days after surgery, Angela and I are back home. We passed the critical phase of our recovery and were released from the hospital with flying colors!

"We both have a long road of healing in front of us, but we're out to the danger zone and feeling better every day. Your thoughts and support had a direct impact on easing our stress during this time We are eternally grateful!"

The Darker the Organ, the Sweeter the News

As I'm certain you must know, we are smack-dab in the middle of National Minority Donor Awareness Week.

Just a minute. If you're part of America's wondrously diverse color wheel and not waiting desperately for an organ transplant in order to survive, or don't have a friend or loved one who is, why would you be aware?

That was the question Dr. Clive Callender may have been pondering in 1991 when he founded the national Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program, more widely (and easily) known as MOTTEP. A professor of surgery at Howard University, Callender also established the Howard University Hospital Transplant Center in D.C., the first minority-operated center in the United States.

Here's the issue: Of the more than 100,000 people currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant in this country (of course there are other organs, as well as eyes and tissue, but I'm partial to kidneys), at least 64 percent of them are minorities. African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders are far more susceptible to high blood pressure and diabetes than any other ethnic groups (don't ask me why), and those are the two leading causes of kidney failure.

Every 10 minutes, another patient is added to that waiting list. Every day, 18 patients die while on that list.

However, though minorities dominate the waiting list – We're No. 1! We're No. 1! –  our rate of organ donation, either as a living donor or after death, has been vastly disproportionate. Maybe we think we'll have a use for them after we're gone, or that Jesus won't want to see us all cut up like that.

The great news is, thanks to groups like MOTTEP and other education and outreach efforts, the number of minority donors has more than doubled over the past 15 years. The sobering news is, there is still so far to go.

Dr. Clive Callander

"When we started this effort, we were told that minorities don't donate organs; we've proven that wrong," Callender said in an interview with organdonor.gov. "Instead, we've learned that by overcoming common misconceptions and creating awareness about organ donation, communities come together and help take care of each other."

A single organ donor can save a dozen lives or more. And because the organ match is likely to be far more compatible with a member of the same ethnic group (again, don't ask me why – what do I look like, a transplant surgeon?), the need for minority donors is critical.

Here's the call to action, what you can do. First and most obvious, sign up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor. It's really simple and only takes a minute: you can find more information here.

Then share the message with your family and friends via email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other mode of communication you wish. (Share my blog – please!) Hey, you might even want to talk to them! And make sure you let your family know of your desire to be an organ donor, so there can be no doubt going forward.

I'm alive today because of the selfless act of one minority family who improved and extended my life through the gift of a "perfect" kidney. The more organs donated, the more lives saved: simple as that. You have the chance to make a huge difference in so many other lives. It's the next best thing to immortality.

Like Spike Lee would tell you: do the right thing.

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Did you know there was a Hemodialysis University? Boy, their final exams must be rough!

Calling all nephrologists, fellows, dialysis nurses and dialysis technicians: ISDH, the International Society for Hemodialysis, with assistance from Network Strategies and Innovations, Inc. (NSI), is conducting a two-day "Hemodialysis University" program Aug. 15-16 at the Chicago Marriott O'Hare, its first such event in the Midwest since 2012.

The conference, "Critical Solutions for Dialysis Care," features an emphasis on home hemo, with an internationally recognized faculty on hand to conduct the sessions. Group rates are available. For more information or registration, go to ishd.org or call (800) 228-9290.

Wonder what Hemodialysis University's team mascot might be? The Fighting Fistulas?

Walking in the Motor City, Hoping for a Lift – Come Join Me Saturday!

The facts are these: African Americans, who seem to fall victim to every illness from diabetes to high blood pressure at a far greater rate than the rest of the population, make up the majority of people on waiting lists for organ transplants.

However, although black folks need more organs, we donate fewer after we die. A lot fewer. And nearly every medical study you'll see says an organ from a donor of the same racial or ethnic group has a much better chance of being transplanted successfully and overcoming rejection.

C'mon, brothers and sisters, step up! Do you really want some middle-aged white woman's kidney rumbling around inside you?

(Whaddaya think? "White woman" reference too much? Over the top?)

I'm in Detroit this weekend, making an 800-mile round trip from my current home to my favorite city because this is an issue I care about passionately. I was so blessed: I received my donor kidney from a young African American girl, and some doctors say I'm doing better today than I ever did with my own kidneys. She literally saved my life.

You could save some lives, too.

This Saturday, July 27, I'll be speaking – and walking – at the 16th annual LIFE Walk on Belle Isle, sponsored by the Detroit chapter of  MOTTEP (the Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program). The event features a 5K and 10K run in addition to a 5K walk (my mind and heart say "run," but my knees are holding them both hostage in favor of "walk.") The real purpose, however, is to heighten awareness about the critical need for more minorities to consider organ donation.

I hear the goal of Saturday's get-together is to sign up 250 new organ donors. What? I think we can do at least twice  that, even though many of those who will attend the LIFE Walk already may have committed to donation. I say 500 new donors! Hey, why not think big?

I'll be joined by some local TV celebs from Channel 7 (WXYZ), meteorologist Keenan Smith and news anchor Glenda Lewis. And I understand that Glenda's mom, Detroit television legend Diana Lewis, may show up as well. (Can't wait to give her a big hug!) And my old friend (whom I haven't seen in years – some friend I am), former U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins, will serve as the official Run Marshal.

If you're anywhere near Metro Detroit, come and join me Saturday if you can. Registration opens at 7:30 a.m., the run begins at 8:30 and the walk commences at 9. My goal: To touch your heart and conscience, bring a tear to your eye and make you knock other people over in your rush to sign up as an organ donor.

I promise you three things: It won't hurt when they harvest your organs for donation. You could help eight people or more live fuller, happier lives as your legacy.

And no matter where you end up going, you won't need your body after you leave.

'Hot in Cleveland' Is Hot for Donors

Here's a great reason to watch the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland this week, besides the irrepressible Betty White and the extraordinarily fine Valerie Bertinelli, who I had a major crush on when I was a kid and she was on One Day at a Time especially because I knew she grew up in suburban Detroit not far from where I lived and....

Malick, Leeves, Bertinelli and White, 'Hot in Cleveland'

Oops. Went off the grid there for a moment. Sorry.

In a first-of-its kind partnership, TV Land and Hot in Cleveland are teaming with the nonprofit organ donation website MatchingDonors.com to raise awareness of the crucial need for organ donors with this week's episode Wednesday (7.17) at 10 p.m. EST. In the storyline, legendary soap opera star Victoria Chase (Wendie Malick, who I had a major crush on...oh, never mind) makes the life-altering decision to donate one of her kidneys to a desperately ill young girl.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be moved, I suspect.

MatchingDonor.com claims to be the most successful nonprofit agency targeted to "finding living altruistic organ donors for patients needing transplants," receiving more than 1.5 million hits to its website every month.

"We are proud to partner with TV Land," says MatchingDonor founder and CEO Paul Dooley. "Their unselfish efforts in promoting organ donor awareness will directly result in saving lives."

As someone whose life was saved by a successful kidney transplant Nov. 18, 2011, you can bet I'm eager to see this episode. My donated kidney wants to watch, too.

I've been telling her about Valerie and Wendie.

EVERYTHING You Wanted to Know About Transplants – But Didn't Know You Wanted to Ask

Most people know that the wonderful comedian George Lopez received a kidney transplant in 2005, and got the donor organ from his wife, Ann. But did you know he wanted absolutely no part of becoming what he calls "the poster boy for kidney disease?"

George Lopez (Gavin Bond/TBS)

"I just wanted to get in, get out and get on with my life," Lopez admits. "But...I decided that I could not turn my back on the message of organ donation, of prevention, and of taking an interest in your health and the health of your family."

What changed his mind? I found out – and you can, too – in the weekend edition of USA Today last week, which featured a Media Planet section entirely devoted to issues surrounding organ transplantation in America.

Beyond what's billed as Lopez's first-ever interview about his transplant, there are stories on:

• How medical and technological advancements are helping to lessen the time spent on the waiting list for a replacement organ;

• A discussion on the future of transplantation with three celebrated medical experts;

• An article on the financial burdens and realities following an organ transplant;

• A first-person feature on snowboarder Chris Klug, who continued to excel at his sport despite a liver transplant, and much more.

It's a truly impressive – and unexpected – collection of stories regarding one of the topics nearest to my heart. (Or more accurately, my kidney.)

Among the things I think I already knew but are always worth repeating are:

• More than 118,000 Americans are waiting for an organ transplant right now;

• Many of them will wait five years or more for the opportunity to receive a replacement organ;

• Thousands of them will die every year as the gap between the need for organs and the number of organs available continues to widen.

And something I didn't know: 40 percent of all transplanted lungs are rejected.

Yow.

This section from Media Planet, an independent content provider, is really worth diving into if you want to know more about the present and future of transplantation. I'm so glad "Sidney Kidney" turned me on to it. (If you don't know, I can't help you.)

You can read the section HERE.

Direct to Video

I'm certain that some of you have seen this, but I'm just as sure that many of you have not, and it really should be added to the JK – Just Kidneying archives for posterity's sake if nothing else.

On the morning of Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 – a date that will live in happy history for me as the date of my kidney transplant – I was lying on a gurney in a pre-op area of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, flying high on that happy juice they pump into you to "relax" you prior to surgery, when my artificial bliss was interrupted by a complete stranger. 

Unbeknownst to me, the Just Kidneying blog had become very popular in certain sections of Barnes-Jewish, including the hospital's public relations department. My unknown visitor was a PR person for the hospital who had heard I was in the complex for my operation and wanted to interview me for the Barnes-Jewish transplantation blog, "The Rare Gift". 

Now? Right this very second? 

Karen, who was interviewed for the video clip as well, had spent the night before with me in this cramped room, losing sleep with nervous anticipation, and like me had not enjoyed the benefit of hot water, deodorant or a mirror. At that moment, I gained an inkling of how celebrities must feel when they are asked for autographs or photos at the most inconvenient times. 

But I have become such an advocate for transplantation, the Barnes-Jewish team and organ donation, I hardly could refuse such a request. 

This was the result:

Needless to say, I think I've been better! 

But as you know, all's well that ends well, and given how the surgery turned out it's been a long time since I've been any better than this.

Postscript: As we begin 2012 together, this post marks my 100th blog entry since I began Just Kidneying in September 2009. Pretty amazing for someone who never had any intention of ever writing a blog. As Bartles & Jaymes (remember them?) used to say on those wine-cooler TV commercials, "Thank you for your continued support."