Her mother brought her into this world, 46 years ago, and this woman recently gave her mother the gift of life.
By TJ Banes, IU Health Senior Journalist, tfender1@iuhealth.org
She is a grandmother who loves her family. Misty Wheeler wanted her mother to watch those grandchildren grow up.
Five years ago, Cheryl Fox was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a genetic disorder that causes fluid-filled cysts to develop on the kidneys. Over time, they damage the kidneys. Fox’s mother also has PKD and received a kidney transplant. Her son has also been diagnosed. She was on hemodialysis for about two months.
On November 30, 2022, Wheeler, a nurse at IU Health Memorial Hospital became her mother’s living kidney donor. Both women live in Winamac, Ind. and was cared for by the transplant team at IU Health University Hospital.
According to Donate Life Indiana, more than 100,000 men, women, and children nationwide are waiting at any given time for a life-saving organ transplant. More than 1,000 of those waiting were Hoosiers. Last year, 4.2 million Hoosiers signed up to donate organs; 276 organ donors save the life of a person in need of an organ transplant, 949 organs save the life of the recipient.
At IU Health, many people receive kidney and liver transplants from living donors.
Living kidney donors help bring new health to people with kidney failure. Living donors reduce or eliminate the patient’s need for hemodialysis, and a healthy kidney from a living donor may function better and last longer than a kidney from a single donor. deceased donor.
A living kidney donor is not necessarily related by blood to the recipient. Compatibility is based on blood type and tissue type. Age and size are also considered. If a healthy donor is incompatible with the intended recipient, the donor may opt-in to pair donation. Also known as “donor swap” recipient/donor pairs are matched for compatibility. Over the years, IU Health’s kidney transplant team has performed several pairs of donations. Some chains already include multiple people.
“She did it behind my back,” Fox, 69, said of her daughter’s decision to be tested as a match. I feel lucky that she will even consider it.
Wheeler, 46, has been a nurse since 2002. She has been married to husband Gabe for 22 years and is a mother of three children. She knows how important it is for her children to have a grandma in their lives.
In total, Fox has six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
“You should see the waiting room on the day of the transplant. Mom has three siblings who are all there and so are my children. My husband was completely freaked out,” Wheeler said. Family means everything to Wheeler and Fox. Last year they celebrated their wedding, graduation from college and high school, and the birth of two babies.
Fox said she feels great and is grateful that her health has been restored. She enjoys family dinners on Sundays, spending time with her grandchildren, and cheering for Colts and Purdue sports. She also enjoys the occasional coffee and cruising around Bass Lake with her longtime companion, in their maroon Chevy ’57.
“I love my family. I love my grandchildren and I feel so lucky,” Fox said.
