Woman Receives Gift of Life-Saving Kidney Transplant
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Lauren Wickersham (right) receieved a life-saving kidney transplant at UAMS with the help of her donor and friend Pauletta Andrews (left).
April 9, 2014 | Lauren Wickersham had endured one kidney transplant and she needed another if she was going to watch her son grow up. Thanks to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and the generosity of a stranger, she’s no longer on the transplant waiting list.
Born with urethral reflux, at age 9 Wickersham found out she would eventually need a kidney transplant. She had her first transplant at age 31, which failed in 2009. She was then put on dialysis for three years.
The good news was that she was a strong candidate for another transplant, and was put on the waiting list in 2011. In February 2012, she met the woman who changed her life, Pauletta Baldwin Andrews.
When she met Andrews at a birthday party, all she knew was that their sons were friends at the same school. As they talked, Andrews found that Wickersham couldn’t eat cheese because she was on dialysis. After only a short conversation, Andrews learned they shared the same blood type, and was moved to find out if she was a match for Wickersham.
“I didn’t believe her,” Wickersham said. “Several people had said the same thing — that they would get tested, but they didn’t follow through for whatever reason. I was thinking that there was no way we could be a match; we’re not even related.”
Andrews kept her word, got tested at UAMS and found out that her kidney was a perfect candidate for Wickersham.
“When I found out she was a perfect match, I just started crying because how often does this happen?,” Wickersham said. “How can a total stranger do this for you?”
Andrews, who was unable to help her two sons born with heart defects and a twin brother with polycystic kidney disease, was compelled to help someone in need. With her kids in mind, she gave not only for Wickersham, but for her son, Jordan.
“I couldn’t imagine my kids growing up without a mom,” Andrews said. “I did it for Jordan because he needed a mom. The only way I can save my kids is to give them my heart and I obviously can’t do that. But I can show them that no matter what happens you can help others.”
Andrews was accustomed to long stints in the hospital; she had already undergone two C-sections, a hysterectomy and removal of her gall bladder. But before she could donate her kidney, she had to lose 30 pounds.
Andrews wanted help to lose the weight fast so she entered a weight loss contest. With only five spots in the contest, Andrews’ weight loss motivation earned her a spot. After logging hours at the gym and changing her eating habits, she lost the weight by the end of May 2012, just three months.
On June 13, 2012, Gary Barone, M.D., kidney and pancreas transplant surgeon and Chief of the Division of Transplantation at UAMS, removed Andrews’ kidney and gave it to Frederick Bentley, M.D., liver transplant surgeon at UAMS, to place in Wickersham.
For Wickersham, the transplant means a third chance at life.
“It means that I am not sick and I am not doing dialysis four hours a day,” Wickersham said. “I will be here to be my son’s mom. My goal is to see my son have children.”
Andrews is also healthy and was honored for her donation with the 2014 Chain of Life Award from the Arkansas Kidney Disease Commission.