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WORLAND - It's a call you hope and pray will come someday, sooner rather than later, but when it does, it sends a flood of emotions through you - fear, joy and shock.

Those were the emotions that Karen Surat of Worland felt Nov. 9, when she got a call from her transplant coordinator at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver. Surat had been on the kidney transplant list at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver for about five years

Surat was born with a defective gene which causes polycystic kidney disease (PKD). According to mayoclinic.org, "Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is an inherited disorder in which clusters of cysts develop primarily within your kidneys. Cysts are noncancerous round sacs containing water-like fluid. The cysts vary in size and, as they accumulate more fluid, they can grow very large." The most common effects of PKD are kidney failure and high blood pressure.

While Surat was born with the gene that caused polycystic kidney disease, she didn't become aware of the disease until 2008 when x-rays were taken of her lungs during a bout with pneumonia. The x-rays captured part of her kidneys, revealing the cysts.

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On Nov. 9, 2016, Surat was working on finishing the final pages of layout at the Northern Wyoming Daily News. She gets a call about 5 p.m. from her kidney transplant coordinator. They had a possible match for a kidney and they would call her back.

"I wasn't expecting it. The average wait time for that type of donor is so much longer. I figured I would end up on dialysis before getting that type of transplant. It was kind of a shock. I was happy, but I was scared [at the thought of facing major surgery]," Surat said.

She went home after the initial call and her coordinator called her back and wanted Surat to start heading to Denver. They had a virtual match in the computer, the donor matched her antibodies.

They wanted to run the blood work to see if it was a match that would allow for the surgery. Testing would take about six hours. Surat, and her sister Lisa Monroney, headed to Denver knowing that they might get a call that the blood work wasn't a match and she'd be turning around heading home.

About the time they reached Cheyenne, they got the call that it was a good match and they'd be waiting for her.

They arrived at the hospital about 3 a.m. and they immediately began prepping Surat for surgery, including doing more blood work. They had to wait for her new kidney to arrive. Surgery began about 1 p.m. She was out of recovery and in her hospital room about 24 hours after getting the initial call.

Following the surgery, Surat found herself again dealing with a wide range of emotions, including sadness and sympathy for the donor's family. She said, I feel bad that they had to lose a family member in order for my life to be saved."

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When she was placed on the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver deceased donor list her kidney function was at 20 percent, it had dropped to 9 percent just prior to her getting the call.

Initially Surat was seeking a living kidney donor. Friends and family were tested to see if they were a match. She also signed up for the deceased donor list at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. She said the wait time for a living donor is usually less than a deceased donor. She said she was told it could be seven to nine years for a deceased donor at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver.

She later was made inactive from the deceased donor list at the University of Utah Hospital because they wanted to remove the PKD kidneys before a transplant.

She was fortunate, her wait time about 4.5 to 5 years.

Surat doesn't know a lot about her donor, except that he was a young man, in his 30s, and had been on life support. She said she knows that there were two other organ transplants at the hospital, another kidney and liver from the same young man.

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Surat, in an earlier interview, said her biggest symptom of the decrease in kidney function is fatigue. She had to watch her diet, avoiding sodium, potassium, phosphorous (found in many drinks) and proteins.

Now, she gets tired, but mainly from still recovering from the surgery that was performed Nov. 10. She said overall she has more energy. Where before she thought of cooking as a chore it's something she enjoys again.

"I definitely have more energy," she said. She said her brother and his family, whom she stayed with while recovering in Denver, noticed considerable difference from the time she was in Denver for a checkup in October to the time she was released from the hospital three days after the transplantation of the new kidney.

"I'm tired because I have trouble sleeping at night, probably because I do have more energy," Surat said.

She said her husband Tim, and her two daughters also have noticed the difference in energy levels.

As for diet restrictions, she still needs to watch sodium levels, but the potassium, protein and phosphorous are all things her new, healthy kidney needs.

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As with any transplantation there is always a fear the body might reject the donated organ. So far, Surat's body has not, although she said her latest blood levels showed her body was starting to develop some antibodies. She said rather than reducing the amount of one of the anti-rejection medications, prednisone, they are keeping her on the regular dosage for a few more months.

She will have a medication regiment for the rest of her life with three different types of medications to ensure the donated kidney becomes a welcome member of her body.

As for how the new kidney is functioning, she said looking at creatinine levels the function is great. Prior to surgery her creatinine level was 5.0 milligrams (mg) per deciliter (dL). Normal range for a female is .5 to 1.2. Her new creatinine level is right at 1.1, up slightly from about a month ago at .93.

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Her other kidneys were not removed during surgery. Surat said it is a much more invasive surgery to remove the "bad" kidney or kidneys while transplanting the new kidney. She said her surgeon said he wouldn't even discuss it until at least six months have passed.

She said she was losing about 5 percent function each year, so she figures her kidneys with PKD will still have some function for at least two years, then she may make a decision on surgery.

She said the kidneys can stay in unless they give her problems and with the number of cysts, they do, Surat said, but noted there may be other less invasive procedures.

Because PKD is a gene disorder there is no risk of her other kidney getting the disorder.

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Surat returned home Dec. 20, greeted by a "welcome home" sign that her neighbors hung up for her.

She will return to work next week.

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For anyone else on a transplant waiting list, and there are many in the Big Horn Basin, Surat tells them "never give up. You never know when you'll get that phone call; the one call that will change your life."

She added, "Whether you're prepared or not, just do it (have the surgery when the call comes). As scared as I was to go through the surgery I have no regrets."