By age 29, Cheryl Rapacon’s childhood diabetes had taken its toll on her kidneys. Her only treatment options were dialysis, a tedious process, or transplantation. Unfortunately, Cheryl’s family members were not compatible
donors and the wait for a kidney from a deceased donor in New Jersey is five years.
Cheryl’s future remained uncertain until her childhood tennis instructor, Howard Saunders, stepped forward in June 2003 and donated his
kidney.
An Amazing Gift
The pair first met 17 years ago when Ms. Rapacon’s parents signed her up for tennis lessons with Mr. Sanders who was an instructor at the Elite Tennis Academy in West Caldwell. It was a surprise of the most amazing kind when Mr. Sanders offered his kidney to the former student whom he had barely seen in the last 13 years.
In 2002, Rapacon, who has juvenile (Type I) diabetes, began to experience symptoms ranging from extreme fatigue to nausea. Tests revealed that Ms. Rapacon was experiencing kidney failure. The search for a living kidney
donor quickly began.
As Ms. Rapacon’s condition worsened, her fatigue and nausea rose and she was forced to take a leave of absence from her job and begin dialysis treatments. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, one of Ms. Rapacon’s aunts had offered her a kidney and was in the process of being tested.
Unfortunately, the test results would reveal that she, like many other family members, was not a positive match.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sanders and his family, who had moved out of state years ago, returned to New Jersey in 2000 and kept in touch with Ms. Rapacon. Mr. Sanders offered to be tested. When Ms. Rapacon heard that Mr. Sanders was willing to donate, she couldn’t help but feel a bit cautious with her emotions. For Ms. Rapacon, it was a tremendous gesture of kindness; but some people offered to be tested and never actually went through with it. There was also the matter of whether or not he would be a compatible donor. On the first matter, Ms. Rapacon had little to worry about. Mr. Sanders was committed.
“My wife and I spoke and prayed about it. It was very clear that God was leading us in this decision,” he explains. In the spring 2003, test results revealed that Ms. Rapacon’s former tennis coach was a perfect match since both his blood type and antigens were compatible. Ms. Rapacon was astonished when she learned that Mr. Sanders was an ideal match and was willing to donate his kidney. Although Mr. Sanders had been her mentor when she was young, she never imagined that he would one day be saving her life.
“Howard has always been a great guy - supportive on and off the court. But to give me his kidney?” she exclaimed. “Whether he knows it or not, he has instilled lifelong values in me such as, perseverance and having a positive attitude, hope and faith. The miracle of his altruism couldn’t have been more
perfect.”
For Most, A Long Wait
To date there are approximately 82,000 patients awaiting kidney transplants. Like Ms. Rapacon, patients with kidney failure often find it difficult to find kidney matches among their family members. This shortage of needed kidneys – both from deceased donors and living-related donors – has spurred an increase in the number of altruistic living donations in which
the donor is not a relative or intimate friend of the donor.
Nearly 10,782 kidney transplants have been performed in the United States this year. In the summer of 2003, another successful kidney transplant was added to that list. The Sanders-Rapacon kidney donation was performed at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, which, with its sister program at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, currently performs more transplants than any other hospital in New York, New Jersey, Boston or Philadelphia.
A Happy Ending
Ms. Rapacon recovered quickly from surgery and was able to return to her active lifestyle. Although she still takes insulin to treat the diabetes she has had since age 9 and hopes at some point to receive a pancreas transplant, little has stopped Ms. Rapacon from striving for her life’s ambitions. As for
Mr. Sanders, his courageous spirit has shed a new light on both living and altruistic donations. The two hope that their story will inspire others to donate.
For more information about kidney donation, please call the Saint Barnabas Renal Transplant Centers at (973) 322-5938.
