Kidney Kinship: Aunt donating kidney to niece in need
By Brian Arola barola@mankatofreepress.com
Oct 10, 2018
Kristian Brandt (left) takes a photo with her aunt, Debbie Leatherman, in August after Leatherman informed her she could be her organ donor. Brandt has lived with a kidney disease for years, but her aunt's surprise meant the two could go through with a transplant today. Photo courtesy of Debbie Leatherman
The Free Press
MANKATO — Dialysis seemed inevitable for Kristian Brandt on the August day when her aunt, Debbie Leatherman, called her up for coffee.
Brandt, diagnosed with a kidney disease called IgA nephropathy in 2013, was living in a constant state of fatigue. She was on a wait list for a transplant but told her aunt she’d need the dialysis during the lengthy wait.
Her aunt responded with a surprise.
“I said ‘Well Kristian, I had a call from my nurse in Rochester,’” Leatherman recalled. “‘How about we avoid you going on dialysis altogether, because I’m going to be able to be your kidney donor.’”
Brandt, of Le Sueur, was shocked. She knew Leatherman was undergoing testing to determine if she could be a donor but had no idea how serious her aunt was about giving her the organ.
With Leatherman’s news, all the stress surrounding dialysis faded. The two will go through with their procedures today.
“It means everything,” Brandt said. “It’s so nice because being on dialysis, if I went through the clinic, I’d have to go three times per week. It’d take time away from my work, time away from my kids and I’d be sick a lot.”
Leatherman said Monday she frequently prayed for her niece to heal over the years. Once while doing it, after she’d heard Brandt needed a donor, the John 3:16 verse starting with “for God so loved the world that he gave” kept running through her mind. The keyword for her: “gave.”
“That was where it really made it feel like I am meant to do this and God is leading me to do this,” she said.
The reminders kept coming. She opened the newspaper and read stories about organ donations. She went on Netflix to pick out a movie and would come across films about donors.
Ahead of their procedures, the two said they’re already looking forward to their recoveries.
“I just want to feel like myself again,” Brandt said. “I just want to go out and do things with my family and not worry about being tired and not feeling like doing anything.”
IgA nephropathy, or Berger’s disease, causes inflammation that eventually hampers the kidneys’ abilities to filter waste from blood. Brandt said her kidneys were functioning at 30 percent when she was diagnosed in 2013 but are now at about 15 percent.
Both donor and recipient will take weeks to recover following today's surgeries, after which Brandt will remain on anti-rejection drugs for the rest of her life. Leatherman said her one hope for the transplant is that her niece’s body accepts the new kidney with little to no complications.
Leatherman, a resident assistant with Vista Prairie at Monarch Meadows, needed to take six weeks off from work to account for the transplant preparation and recovery. But her co-workers are stepping in to help her through the process.
Tiffany Maass, business office manager with Vista Prairie at Monarch Meadows, said several employees combined to donate about two weeks of their paid time off to Leatherman. They also organized a meal train where Maass will deliver food to Leatherman once the donor returns home.
Maass said the support is the least her co-workers can do considering how selfless Leatherman is.
“To me it’s a no-brainer when someone is doing something like this that we can do everything we can to support them,” she said. “This is just a small little bit we can do in comparison for what she's doing for her niece.”
The support from both co-workers and residents has been heartwarming, Leatherman said. On her last shift Sunday, the residents she works with insisted they give her a hug before she left for her time off.
Brandt and Leatherman said their experiences as organ recipient and donor will create a lasting bond between them. Knowing the difference it makes, they encouraged anyone who’s able to consider donating.
“If they’re able to do something like this for somebody, they should definitely do it,” Brandt said.