A Miracle

An old fried of mine, Jo Ann, has had terrible rheumatoid arthritis
for many years. I lost track of how many surgeries she has had and
how many plates are in various joints of her body. And still she has
had to take powerful medications to help her with the pain and
stiffness.

Eventually, those drugs took their toll. In June, she found out that
her kidneys were failing.

Jo Ann likes her lifestyle and can be a bit stubborn (smile), so she
continued to go out and listen to bands and see music, travel to the
hills of Southern Ohio where she and her significant other, Rick, have
a lovely home (where Richard and I spent our honeymoon, in fact). She
was told she should be on dialysis, but she thought she could manage.

And then she became so sick that she coughed hard enough to literally
blow a hole in her esophagous. She was rushed to the hospital, fixed
up, and put on dialysis immediately.

She needed a kidney transplant. The waiting list for a kidney is
about two years. Whether or not she could make it that long is a
question. The dialysis was very, very rough on her. She had so much
fluid built up in her lungs, they would have to remove fluid, which
caused her to crash (blood pressure dropping to below 80), and she
would have to remain in dialysis a couple of extra hours to recover.
And she would come home exhausted. Every other day was like this.

A few years ago, she met a friend, Barb. They enjoy ushering together
at a local concert hall, and enjoying hearing the music for free.
Barb found out about the situation, and said "hey, you can have one of
my kidneys."

Unbelieveably, she was a match!

And yesterday, Barb and Jo Ann went into the hospital for the kidney
transplant. The kidney took right away, and as of last night, both
Barb and Jo Ann were doing very well, all things considered. It will
be a scary year, as they wait to see if rejection occurs, but after a
year, it can be called a success.

Imagine -- a friend with a kidney she's willing to donate turns out to
be a perfect match.

*That* is a Christmas miracle!

Ginger-lyn
very relieved today

Ginger-lyn Summer wrote:
An old fried of mine, Jo Ann (snip)
Barb found out about the situation, and said "hey, you can have one of my
kidneys."

Unbelieveably, she was a match!

And yesterday, Barb and Jo Ann went into the hospital for the kidney
transplant. The kidney took right away, and as of last night, both
Barb and Jo Ann were doing very well, all things considered. It will
be a scary year, as they wait to see if rejection occurs, but after a
year, it can be called a success.

Imagine -- a friend with a kidney she's willing to donate turns out to
be a perfect match.

*That* is a Christmas miracle!

Ginger-lyn
very relieved today

Happy Holidays!!! That's wonderful news for your friends.

Jill

Ginger-lyn Summer skrev i meddelandet
...
An old fried of mine, Jo Ann, has had terrible rheumatoid arthritis
for many years. I lost track of how many surgeries she has had and
how many plates are in various joints of her body. And still she has
had to take powerful medications to help her with the pain and
stiffness.

Eventually, those drugs took their toll. In June, she found out that
her kidneys were failing.

Jo Ann likes her lifestyle and can be a bit stubborn (smile), so she
continued to go out and listen to bands and see music, travel to the
hills of Southern Ohio where she and her significant other, Rick, have
a lovely home (where Richard and I spent our honeymoon, in fact). She
was told she should be on dialysis, but she thought she could manage.

And then she became so sick that she coughed hard enough to literally
blow a hole in her esophagous. She was rushed to the hospital, fixed
up, and put on dialysis immediately.

She needed a kidney transplant. The waiting list for a kidney is
about two years. Whether or not she could make it that long is a
question. The dialysis was very, very rough on her. She had so much
fluid built up in her lungs, they would have to remove fluid, which
caused her to crash (blood pressure dropping to below 80), and she
would have to remain in dialysis a couple of extra hours to recover.
And she would come home exhausted. Every other day was like this.

A few years ago, she met a friend, Barb. They enjoy ushering together
at a local concert hall, and enjoying hearing the music for free.
Barb found out about the situation, and said "hey, you can have one of
my kidneys."

Unbelieveably, she was a match!

And yesterday, Barb and Jo Ann went into the hospital for the kidney
transplant. The kidney took right away, and as of last night, both
Barb and Jo Ann were doing very well, all things considered. It will
be a scary year, as they wait to see if rejection occurs, but after a
year, it can be called a success.

Imagine -- a friend with a kidney she's willing to donate turns out to
be a perfect match.

*That* is a Christmas miracle!

Ginger-lyn
very relieved today


That is indeed amazing!
Purrs for this to become a real success story.
What a brave and wonderful friend!
Elisabet

What a great story, Ginger-lyn! Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Best wishes to you and your friends,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"Ginger-lyn Summer" wrote in message
...
snip And yesterday, Barb and Jo Ann went into the hospital for the kidney
transplant. The kidney took right away, and as of last night, both
Barb and Jo Ann were doing very well, all things considered. It will
be a scary year, as they wait to see if rejection occurs, but after a
year, it can be called a success.

Imagine -- a friend with a kidney she's willing to donate turns out to
be a perfect match.

*That* is a Christmas miracle!

Ginger-lyn
very relieved today

"Ginger-lyn Summer" wrote in message
...


Imagine -- a friend with a kidney she's willing to donate turns out to
be a perfect match.

*That* is a Christmas miracle!

Ginger-lyn
very relieved today


What an amazing story ... and what a wonderful example of the true "spirit
of Christmas."

MaryL

Ginger-lyn Summer wrote in message
...


A few years ago, she met a friend, Barb. They enjoy ushering together
at a local concert hall, and enjoying hearing the music for free.
Barb found out about the situation, and said "hey, you can have one of
my kidneys."

Unbelieveably, she was a match!

And yesterday, Barb and Jo Ann went into the hospital for the kidney
transplant. The kidney took right away, and as of last night, both
Barb and Jo Ann were doing very well, all things considered. It will
be a scary year, as they wait to see if rejection occurs, but after a
year, it can be called a success.

Imagine -- a friend with a kidney she's willing to donate turns out to
be a perfect match.

*That* is a Christmas miracle!

Ginger-lyn
very relieved today


That's wonderful. It's not an easy decision to make, but it's fantastic to
find out that it's possible. I remember last year, when I heard that my
sister had hepatitis, and possible liver failure, I offered half of my
liver. You'll do anything for those you truly love. Luckily, it turned out
that she just had a dodgy gall bladder, and she's fine now

"Ginger-lyn Summer" wrote in message
...
An old fried of mine, Jo Ann, has had terrible rheumatoid arthritis
for many years. I lost track of how many surgeries she has had and
how many plates are in various joints of her body. And still she has
had to take powerful medications to help her with the pain and
stiffness.

Eventually, those drugs took their toll. In June, she found out that
her kidneys were failing.

Jo Ann likes her lifestyle and can be a bit stubborn (smile), so she
continued to go out and listen to bands and see music, travel to the
hills of Southern Ohio where she and her significant other, Rick, have
a lovely home (where Richard and I spent our honeymoon, in fact). She
was told she should be on dialysis, but she thought she could manage.

And then she became so sick that she coughed hard enough to literally
blow a hole in her esophagous. She was rushed to the hospital, fixed
up, and put on dialysis immediately.

She needed a kidney transplant. The waiting list for a kidney is
about two years. Whether or not she could make it that long is a
question. The dialysis was very, very rough on her. She had so much
fluid built up in her lungs, they would have to remove fluid, which
caused her to crash (blood pressure dropping to below 80), and she
would have to remain in dialysis a couple of extra hours to recover.
And she would come home exhausted. Every other day was like this.

A few years ago, she met a friend, Barb. They enjoy ushering together
at a local concert hall, and enjoying hearing the music for free.
Barb found out about the situation, and said "hey, you can have one of
my kidneys."

Unbelieveably, she was a match!

And yesterday, Barb and Jo Ann went into the hospital for the kidney
transplant. The kidney took right away, and as of last night, both
Barb and Jo Ann were doing very well, all things considered. It will
be a scary year, as they wait to see if rejection occurs, but after a
year, it can be called a success.

Imagine -- a friend with a kidney she's willing to donate turns out to
be a perfect match.

*That* is a Christmas miracle!

Ginger-lyn
very relieved today

A Christmas miracle and a true friend!

Joy

All I can say here is WOW -- what a wonderful story, thanks, Ginger-lyn.
Christine
"Ginger-lyn Summer" wrote in message
...
An old fried of mine, Jo Ann, has had terrible rheumatoid arthritis
for many years. I lost track of how many surgeries she has had and
how many plates are in various joints of her body. And still she has
had to take powerful medications to help her with the pain and
stiffness.

Eventually, those drugs took their toll. In June, she found out that
her kidneys were failing.

Jo Ann likes her lifestyle and can be a bit stubborn (smile), so she
continued to go out and listen to bands and see music, travel to the
hills of Southern Ohio where she and her significant other, Rick, have
a lovely home (where Richard and I spent our honeymoon, in fact). She
was told she should be on dialysis, but she thought she could manage.

And then she became so sick that she coughed hard enough to literally
blow a hole in her esophagous. She was rushed to the hospital, fixed
up, and put on dialysis immediately.

She needed a kidney transplant. The waiting list for a kidney is
about two years. Whether or not she could make it that long is a
question. The dialysis was very, very rough on her. She had so much
fluid built up in her lungs, they would have to remove fluid, which
caused her to crash (blood pressure dropping to below 80), and she
would have to remain in dialysis a couple of extra hours to recover.
And she would come home exhausted. Every other day was like this.

A few years ago, she met a friend, Barb. They enjoy ushering together
at a local concert hall, and enjoying hearing the music for free.
Barb found out about the situation, and said "hey, you can have one of
my kidneys."

Unbelieveably, she was a match!

And yesterday, Barb and Jo Ann went into the hospital for the kidney
transplant. The kidney took right away, and as of last night, both
Barb and Jo Ann were doing very well, all things considered. It will
be a scary year, as they wait to see if rejection occurs, but after a
year, it can be called a success.

Imagine -- a friend with a kidney she's willing to donate turns out to
be a perfect match.

*That* is a Christmas miracle!

Ginger-lyn
very relieved today

Purring for the complete recovery of Jo Ann and her great friend Barb.
Hope Jo ann can find a way to control her other health problems.

On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 21:33:35 GMT, (Ginger-lyn
Summer) wrote:

An old fried of mine, Jo Ann, has had terrible rheumatoid arthritis
for many years. I lost track of how many surgeries she has had and
how many plates are in various joints of her body. And still she has
had to take powerful medications to help her with the pain and
stiffness.

Eventually, those drugs took their toll. In June, she found out that
her kidneys were failing.

Jo Ann likes her lifestyle and can be a bit stubborn (smile), so she
continued to go out and listen to bands and see music, travel to the
hills of Southern Ohio where she and her significant other, Rick, have
a lovely home (where Richard and I spent our honeymoon, in fact). She
was told she should be on dialysis, but she thought she could manage.

And then she became so sick that she coughed hard enough to literally
blow a hole in her esophagous. She was rushed to the hospital, fixed
up, and put on dialysis immediately.

She needed a kidney transplant. The waiting list for a kidney is
about two years. Whether or not she could make it that long is a
question. The dialysis was very, very rough on her. She had so much
fluid built up in her lungs, they would have to remove fluid, which
caused her to crash (blood pressure dropping to below 80), and she
would have to remain in dialysis a couple of extra hours to recover.
And she would come home exhausted. Every other day was like this.

A few years ago, she met a friend, Barb. They enjoy ushering together
at a local concert hall, and enjoying hearing the music for free.
Barb found out about the situation, and said "hey, you can have one of
my kidneys."

Unbelieveably, she was a match!

And yesterday, Barb and Jo Ann went into the hospital for the kidney
transplant. The kidney took right away, and as of last night, both
Barb and Jo Ann were doing very well, all things considered. It will
be a scary year, as they wait to see if rejection occurs, but after a
year, it can be called a success.

Imagine -- a friend with a kidney she's willing to donate turns out to
be a perfect match.

*That* is a Christmas miracle!

Ginger-lyn
very relieved today

--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html

"Ginger-lyn Summer" wrote in message
...
An old fried of mine, Jo Ann, has had terrible rheumatoid arthritis
for many years. I lost track of how many surgeries she has had and
how many plates are in various joints of her body. And still she has
had to take powerful medications to help her with the pain and
stiffness.


Truly a wonderful miracle! Purrs and prayers that both wonderful ladies
recover quickly and that Jo Ann will have a normal life again.

Hazel Az