NORFOLK, Va. — The season of giving is in full swing, but not all presents can be wrapped and placed under a tree. Some gifts are life-changing and priceless.
I met a young woman in need of a gift that would save her life.
This encounter began as a result of social media, Instagram to be exact. When I saw a recent post by a local band called The Fighting Jamesons, I knew we had to help.
It was a plea on behalf of their bassist’s wife who desperately needs a kidney.
Geo Bauman, who plays guitar for the band, told me, “I don’t even think I realized that the story was posted yet. I logged onto Instagram, and it had a bunch of shares, a bunch of likes and a message from you. And it was immediate, how quick it was... I never thought that it would line up that way and it did. So, it worked out.”
There’s still a great deal to be worked out, however.
Katisha Vertrees is a 28-year-old Norfolk woman who is in end-stage renal disease, meaning her kidneys permanently fail to work.
I wondered how such a young vibrant person found herself in this unthinkable position. Katisha explained it was due to lupus.
“I went to my mom, and she took me to the hospital, and I remember them taking my blood pressure and it was like 170 over 100, and they said I had stage 3 kidney disease and lupus,” Katisha recalled.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. One of the complications of lupus is kidney disease.
Dr. Malik Anjum is a nephrologist with Tidewater Kidney Specialists. He's been overseeing Katisha’s care for more than a year.
He shared, “About half of the patients who have lupus end up developing some sort of kidney disease, and unfortunately, 10% of them progress to end-stage kidney failure, despite treatments."
Because her kidneys no longer do the work, Katisha requires daily dialysis at home to remove extra fluid and waste products from her body. I spent time with her as she showed me the process.
“I have to connect every night for eight hours. So, I come home from work, do my routine and connect to dialysis for eight hours," explained Katisha. "Then, I’ll sleep. I’ll wake up in the morning, disconnect, and go to work.”
Katisha is a vascular ultrasound technician and her husband, Taylor, is a Virginia Beach firefighter by day and the bassist for the Fighting Jamesons by night.
In addition to Instagram, they've taken to Facebook for help with a page called Kidney for Katisha.
Taylor felt like social media was one way to get the word out about Katisha’s desperate need for a kidney donor.
“I was like, Teesha, this is the only way we’re probably going to be able to grab traction," he told me. "I mean, we’re gonna have to put your life on the main screen, essentially. And so, I started making posts every day.”
One of the heartbreaking posts shows Katisha, 15 weeks pregnant, with the couple's first child. The pregnancy sent Katisha into end-stage renal failure after being managed at stage 3 for many years.
Katisha also suffered a miscarriage.
The only way she can carry a child full term is a kidney transplant. The only way Katisha can lead a normal life, untethered from a dialysis machine, is a kidney transplant.
However, the wait time for a kidney is long. For some, it's dangerously long.
Dr. Duncan Yoder is the Surgery Director for the Sentara Vascular Transplant Program and spoke with me about the wait times.
“One of the big challenges in transplant is the need for transplantation is outpacing the number of kidneys available," said Dr. Yoder. "Average wait times for recipients are about three to five years in our region. So, it's significant, and most patients are on dialysis during that time, if not longer. And so, that’s why living donation is so important.”
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According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, about 6,500 living donation transplants take place each year.
A living donor can decide who to donate their organ to if they turn out to be a match.
“A simple blood test can tell what your blood type is, and if you’re compatible with the recipient," Dr. Yoder went on to say. "It’s an incredibly rewarding experience for a lot of these donors, and providing the gift that keeps on giving, you know, relevant this time of year.”
Katisha has been waiting for a kidney for about two years. The most recent data from Transplant Living says more than 90,000 people are waiting with her. That’s one reason a living donor is Katisha’s most viable option.
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“It would be a complete gift," she said. "I don’t know. People don’t understand how much it would be a gift. It would change my life completely.”
Katisha’s wait time could be longer than most because her blood type is O – the universal type. This means Katisha could donate to anyone, but she can only receive an organ from a donor who is also type O.
If you feel compelled to see if you’re a match or would like to learn more about the living donor program, click here.
