Kerry Haynes, RN
Kidney Transplant Recipient Transplant Date: January 12, 1998
Pleasant Hill, Calif.

As an operating room nurse, Kerry Haynes' experience with kidney disease followed a different path than other patients. At age 28, she learned that she had polycystic kidney disease and doctors predicted she would need a transplant in 15 years. They advised her not to bear children and to monitor her renal function.

As a young woman with her whole life in front of her, Kerry became her own health advocate, keeping check on her renal function with her nursing skills. "I lived my life just as I had before and, despite my doctor's advice, I got pregnant and delivered a healthy son at age 29," explains Kerry. "Once a year, I would consult with my nephrologist regarding my kidney disease and overall health."

In 1993, more than 10 years after her diagnosis, Kerry developed anemia and could tell her condition was deteriorating. She knew of the possibility of getting a kidney transplant before dialysis became necessary and Kerry decided she would pursue a transplant evaluation. When her insurance company resisted the evaluation, claiming that her condition didn't yet merit the exam, Kerry calculated the amount of money her insurance company would have to spend with her on dialysis versus the cost of a kidney transplant evaluation and surgery. After several letters back and forth, her insurance company agreed and in 1993, Kerry was evaluated at California Pacific Medical Center and her name was added to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waiting list.

"Shortly after my name was added to the waiting list, I learned that I had ductal carcinoma insitu (DCIS) Stage 0 breast cancer cells," recalls Kerry. "Knowing the possible outcome of advanced breast cancer based on the many patients I cared for, I told my doctors to give me the 'full monty'-a bilateral mastectomy with full reconstruction, even though my cancer was in the very early stages. I couldn't take a chance on letting the cancer interfere with a kidney transplant, and knew that it was a contraindication to transplant surgery."

Kerry's surgery proved successful and she routinely submitted pathology reports to California Pacific to show there was no recurrence of the disease. As her wait for a kidney continued, Kerry's health became progressively worse and she had to cut back on her O.R. nursing duties. "I would call the hospital regularly to find out where I was on the list," says Kerry. "I was so anxious for my new kidney."

Eventually, Kerry developed pneumonia and checked herself into the hospital during her nursing shift. Her fever was at 103°, and her health was quickly declining. As much as Kerry wanted to avoid dialysis, she had no choice but to begin it in 1997. "Personally, I liken my dialysis experience to purgatory," says Kerry. "I felt miserable and didn't have a good experience at my dialysis unit."

Four years after her name was added to the waiting list (and after eight months on dialysis), Kerry's transplant occurred. "I was elated at the call for my transplant and looking forward to feeling better," she explains. "My surgery went smoothly, but three days afterwards I became so sick from the anti-rejection drugs that I wanted to reverse my decision. Within two days, though, I got better and left the hospital." Kerry adds, "My experience at California Pacific Medical Center-from the evaluation to the transplant coordinators, O.R., ICU floor and return home-could not have been any more organized and professional. It gave me so much confidence to get through that time in my life."

When she first returned home, Kerry was taking 57 pills a day to prevent rejection. She experienced side effects from some of the medications, causing her to become moody and overwhelmed. To deal with her depression, Kerry began seeing a therapist and took anti-depressive medications that helped change her image and boost her spirits.

"Today, three years after my transplant, I am so grateful for the lease on life it has given me," says Kerry. "My son, who is now ready to go off to college, acknowledges my transformation and says he'd rather go to school close by because I'm fun to be around and he now has a healthy mother!"

Kerry often thinks of the donor who gave her a kidney and after her transplant, wrote to the family to express her gratefulness. "Since then, my family and I have met with them and I have a special place in my heart for the enormous gift they have given me," she says. Kerry also eagerly shares her transplant experience with other patients and nurses, encouraging patients to get listed before dialysis becomes necessary and explaining the many benefits of transplantation.