Success Stories

Hello,  my name is Steven Small – I am 57 years old and have been on PD dialysis at home since April of 2014.

GREAT NEWS!!!!  Steve received a kidney from Debra Hughes on December 5, 2016 at ECMC.  Thank you to Deb!!!  She found Steve’s profile on the Kidney Connection website and donated a kidney to him, a complete stranger, out of the goodness of her heart.  WE LOVE YOU DEB!!!!!

I have been blessed to have such a supportive family. My wife Michelle, twin sons Andrew and Christopher, daughter Nikki and youngest son Michael and his wife Katie.  I have always worked hard all my life usually holding 2 or even 3 jobs to support my family. I have been in School Child Nutrition Program Management for over 30 years and wish to continue to be a Child Nutrition advocate for many more years.  I enjoy cooking and family get togethers and now I am getting into some gardening and enjoy keeping up with my Yankees.

Its not easy working and then coming home to hook up to a dialysis machine for 9 and 1/2 hours a night.

God has helped me through some difficult times  and  I believe that there is someone out there that can give me the gift of life. Maybe having this disease is God’s way of telling me to slow down.

I pray for the day of transplant . I would like to thank Jeanette and the Kidney Connection for this site.

steven.small@sodexo.com

Steve and his wife Michelle with their family

Michelle Armentrout lives in Jamestown, NY. She has blood type “A”. You can contact Michelle by using the form below.

I have some wonderful news!!!  On February 21, 2017, Michelle received her Gift of Life from Levi Miller.  Levi is little Rosie’s step-dad.  Rosie’s profile was on the Kidney Connection website and she received a kidney when she was 4 years old from a complete stranger.  Rosie’s step-dad wanted to “Pay it Forward” and found Michelle on the Kidney Connection.  WOW!!!  You are one amazing person Levi!!!

My name is Michele and I am 46 years old.  I have been on for the past 6 months.

I was a receptionist in a local podiatrists office but am unable to continue working because of the time I need to spend on the dialysis machine.   I have an 18 year old daughter who works and goes to college. She wants her Mom back!!

My Blood Type is “A”.  You can test for me if you have Blood Type “A” or Blood Type ”O”.

On Nov. 12, 2013 4-year-old Rosie Thrasher-Miller from Randolph received a kidney from a complete stranger who found her through the Western New York Kidney Connection website.

“Rosie now has hopes of a happy childhood and living a normal life because of a complete
stranger,” said Ostrom. “I am so proud to have been a part of it and
it gives me reason to continue on my mission with the Kidney Connection.

January 2012 – It was a very Happy New Year for Seema. Greg Emminger, a total stranger, read her profile on the WNY Kidney Connection and gave her the gift of life. Thank You Greg for your kind Gift.

Desperate for a donor Seema found a website called the Western New York Kidney Connection where those in need can post their plea for help …

Greg Emminger of North Tonawanda donated a kidney to Seema Ure in December 2011. Their story was featured on WGRZ TV where they were interviewed by Scott Brown.

Seema was born with kidney disease and about five years before the transplant her kidneys began to fail. Her quality of life changed dramatically while on dialysis. She had led an active, happy life, enjoying the outdoors, including boating and hot air ballooning. Seema said, “I had prayed really hard and I said God just either take me away or get me a transplant. I just can’t live like that, I felt like I was wasting away. I didn’t want to live another day.”

Desperate for a donor, Seema found the Kidney Connection. She posted a photo of herself happy and vibrant, as she once had been, and wrote:

“Hi, this was before dialysis filled my life. Since 2007, I’ve been slowly dying. I live on a machine for 12 hours a day each day at home and I have no one I can turn to for help, I feel very much alone in this world. It’s hard for me to ask for help when it means someone has to go through so much for me I wish I could give the gift of life to someone rather than receive it. My blood type is A Positive and I don’t want to keep living on a machine please help me, and hear my prayers.”

Greg saw her post on the Kidney Connection. “It gave me time to pause and reflect on all of the blessings I have. I have wonderful and healthy children, I have great friends, great family, financially things are good, I have a good career, I have a home. There was still something I felt I could do more, I could do something more to change someone else’s life, to make their life as happy and as satisfying as mine is. I turned that into what if I don’t do something for Seema? And the answer was pretty clear- she was going to die.”

Greg donated his kidney to save Seema, a stranger. They met only after the transplant had taken place. Seema said, “I could hardly talk. I really prayed hard that I couldn’t live another day on that machine, and somehow God heard me and went through him. Somehow he picked me. I call him my Christmas angel. He’s taken away all my fears and he’s taken away all of my sufferings and that’s why I call him an angel because to me it’s not humanly possible to do that to someone but he did that.”

Greg and Seema are doing well and were reunited in July 2012 when Greg was honored as the Grand Marshall of the Canal Fest Parade where this photo was taken. Greg has become a spokesman and advocate for living kidney donation, inspiring others to “pay it forward.”

After reading about  the Web site in The OBSERVER, Marlene Williams of Brocton created a profile for  her husband, Dudley, who had been on dialysis. Cheektowaga resident Ted Morton  found Dudley’s profile and contacted him. Soon, the two went from talking on  the phone to meeting face to face at a local restaurant.

“Actually meeting  up with the person whose life is going to be extended was quite emotional for  us,” Morton said.

Once the two were  found to be compatible, a successful kidney transplant took place on June 11. A  few years ago, one stranger needed a kidney and another was looking to donate  one. Today, the two are both healthy and have become great friends.

“We are going to  be friends for life,” said Williams. “He calls every weekend and sees  how we are doing.”

Ted – you are truly a hero.  We know you will deny it but we are so proud of you for saving Dudley’s life and giving him time to spend with his family.

Ellicottville Postmaster Gives the Gift of Life

BY JEANINE ZIMMER

Linda Padilla, Postmaster of the Ellicottville Post Office, donated her kidney to Julie Wolf of Olean on August 20, 2008. She had met Linda through the website www.wnykidneyconnection.org. The WNY Kidney Connection was founded by Jeanette Ostrom of Jamestown and has helped several people in need of finding matching kidney donors. The purpose of the foundation is to eliminate long waiting lists and hence painful dialysis time for people in need of a kidney transplant. Before this movement it was illegal in NY State to find a matching kidney donor online.

“I saw the ad in The Villager for Kenny Woodfield who was in need of a kidney and I called his mother Jan to find out about donating to him,” Linda said in an interview with The Villager. After some discussion they decided it wasn’t a probable match because of the age difference between Linda and Kenny so Jan directed her to the website www.wnykidneyconnection.org.

Linda did some research on the site and zoned in on Julie. After much contemplation and discussion with her family, she decided to contact Julie; they exchanged some emails and a phone conversation, then met for lunch.

Linda laughs in hindsight: “When I was pulling up to meet Julie I had a brief anxiety attack and said to myself, what if I don’t like her?! I’m not going to give my kidney to someone I don’t like,” she chuckled.  “We (Julie and Linda) laugh about that now.”

Linda started testing in March and the tests ran through July when they set a tentative date for August 20, 2008. The surgery went as planned and Linda was out by the 23rd.

“The funny thing is, I had just signed the paperwork for my new house on August 7,” Linda made note. “I had to be moved out and into a new house 13 days before my surgery!” (After surgery patients are not allowed to lift anything for about 10 weeks.) With the help of her own and Julie’s family, Linda was successfully moved into her new house in Olean. “It’s just been a riot,” Linda laughed again, describing the boxes around her house that were randomly packed and scattered.

As for the experience of donating she says, “I would recommend it to anyone. I am so surprised by how little pain the experience actually entailed and the staff at Buffalo General Hospital is just wonderful.”

Both Linda and Julie, a managing director of Interfaith Caregivers in Olean, are doing great after the transplant.

Karyn Anderson from Minnesota donated her kidney to Diane on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006 at Buffalo General Hospital.

A local nurse just received a new kidney from a donor she’d never met before. Dr. Peter Ostrow tells us why this kind of organ transplant could one day become a routine way to save a life.

“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it.”

Diane Krzyzanowski needed a kidney, and on Wednesday, she got one, from a woman she never knew, who came all the way from Minnesota to give it to her. And just before the surgery, she was still amazed.

Diane said, “Even though I know it’s happening, it’s still hard to take it all in, and it’s still hard to absorb that this woman is doing this for me.”

The donor, Karyn Anderson, was accompanied by her sister, a nurse, who also had donated a kidney.

Kathryn Dopp, R.N., Karyn’s sister, said, “It’s routine, like donating blood. It’s something you can live without and someone else really needs.”

Karyn’s husband also had donated a kidney, to his mother, so Karyn knew that there was nothing to fear.

“She knows that she can be normal. I have had no side effects from having my kidney removed; I don’t feel any different.”

The surgery was at Buffalo General Hospital, and it went very well. One team of of surgeons prepared Karyn’s kidney for removal, and, in another operating room, another team prepared Diane to receive it. By Thursday morning, Diane’s new kidney was working very well.

Diane said, “I’m just so grateful and so thrilled that it’s working, and that Karyn was so wonderful to do this for me.”

Karyn has some pain from her incision, but otherwise, she’s fine.

Karyn said, “It’s just great; I’m just so glad I could make such a difference in someone’s life.”

“It is truly the gift of life. People don’t realize that, but that’s what you’re giving.”

Diane’s new kidney is working so well that she has already begun to feel the foginess of kidney failure lifting. A transplant from a healthy living donor is the best kind to receive, and Karyn’s family has set an example: healthy people can give kidneys.

Mark Schifferle donated a kidney to Robert Murphy in May 2013 at ECMC. Mark lives in Wheatfield, Robert on Buffalo’s East Side.

Mark had been thinking about becoming a living donor when he was inspired by another Kidney Connection success story he saw featured on TV. Mark wanted to choose a Vietnam Veteran to receive his kidney, explaining, “Because I easily could have been there myself. I was 14 numbers away from being drafted, but for the grace of God I could have easily been there myself. I’m not doing this for any other reason than to help somebody and put that war to rest.”

Robert’s bio on the Kidney Connection said in part:  “I graduated from East High School and went into the Army and was in Vietnam from 1967 to ’68, I received the Purple Heart and the bronze star. I am an active member of Calvary Episcopal Methodist Church, I enjoy fishing and playing pool. “I am grateful for all I have and hope that I will be given an opportunity for a second chance through a new kidney. Thank you for reading my profile.”

Robert was on dialysis for four and a half years–three and a half hours, three days a week, tethered to a machine to stay alive. With Mark’s generous gift of a kidney, Robert no longer needs dialysis. Both men were interviewed and their story was featured on WGRZ TV. They have become great friends, sharing a love of fishing.  Said Robert, “I can’t say enough about him. He’s a great guy, it’s like a miracle you know?” And Mark, “It puts the last piece in place, it was a no- brainer picking him, it’s just been a dream come true.”

Paul Cardinale lives in Jamestown, NY. He received a kidney from William Thomas. A complete stranger he met on the internet.

William Thomas, left donated a kidney to Paul Cardinale after learning of Paul’s need on the internet.

William Thomas donated a kidney to Paul Cardinale on Wednesday, September 13 at Buffalo General Hospital.  They are both doing well and recovering.  This is the first transplant in New York in which the donor and recipient met on line.  More news to come!

Policy change clears way for organ donation from Internet donor

By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press Writer

September 21, 2006, 5:04 PM EDT

BUFFALO, N.Y.(AP) _ Paul Cardinale and William Thomas sat side by side at a Buffalo hospital Thursday, the real-life result of a policy change debated by officials at the region’s largest health care provider for more than a year.

Kaleida Health’s decision to allow “altruistic” organ donations cleared the way for Cardinale to receive a kidney from Thomas after the two met over the Internet. Health officials believe it may have been the first such Internet-arranged transplant in the state.

“At first we really didn’t know how to feel about it,” Dr. Oleh Pankewycz said of the idea of allowing a stranger to donate an organ to a patient met online. It was Cardinale’s mother who raised the idea with Kaleida executives.

There were legal and ethical issues to consider. Critics of such arrangements worry they may open the door to payment for organs, which is illegal, or that they favor people who can afford Web site fees or those whose stories are most moving. Profiles listed Thursday on the www.matchingdonors.com site through which Cardinale and Thomas met were titled “I want my Dad back,” “Mother of four,” and “Too young to die.”

Lengthy discussions with input from Kaleida’s ethics and legal experts satisfied those concerns, Pankewycz said, and the decision was reinforced by the success story of Cardinale and Thomas, who underwent surgery at Buffalo General Hospital last week.

“Now having lived through this, I see this is the right thing to do. There are individuals, carefully screened both for their benefit and the recipients’, in which this procedure is truly lifesaving and should be done,” Pankewycz said.

The demand for organs drastically exceeds the number that become available for transplant each year. The waiting list for organs from deceased donors now exceeds 92,000, said Annie Moore, spokeswoman for the United Network for Organ Sharing. Most of those people _ about 68,000 _ are waiting for kidneys.

With about 17 people on the waiting list dying every day, patients are increasingly seeking out donations on their own, whether through Web sites, billboards or personal ads. The number of patients who actually succeed remains relatively small. Last year, of the 6,563 kidneys donated by living donors, just 83 went to strangers, Moore said. That number has held fairly steady for the last three years, she said. Most donations are among family.

UNOS does not have the authority to tell transplant centers whether or not to perform altruistic transplants, but urges centers to have protocols in place for handling such arrangements.

“We just want to make sure patients are informed of the risks and challenges they may face,” Moore said. It is important, she said, that potential donors undergo not only a physical evaluation, but psychological screening to ensure they have not been coerced or made to feel guilty about donating.

“Obviously, Kaleida fully agrees and endorses a policy of careful screening, careful matching,” said Jim Kaskie, Kaleida’s president and chief executive.

Thomas said he had watched a news segment in which the practice of patients soliciting organ donations was debated and felt for those who were taking the initiative to try to save their own lives.

After visiting the Matching Donors Web site, he pasted his profile and then began sorting through those of people looking for organs. When he came to Cardinale’s, something clicked.

“It was just a feeling that this is the person I am supposed to help,” said Thomas, who lives in Kodiak, Ala., and works for a homeless shelter.

Cardinale’s efforts to find a donor inspired the creation of a Buffalo-area site, www.wnykidneyconnection.org, a free site whose goal is to match local people and save on the expense and hardship of travel. Cardinale’s family, which paid $600 for a lifetime membership to the Matching Donors site, paid for Thomas’ travel and hotel.

The local site’s founder, Patti Merritt, herself a kidney recipient, countered concerns that the Internet process was unfair to those on traditional waiting lists, saying any successful matchup helps everyone.

“You are benefiting everyone else who is awaiting a kidney because you’re no longer on that list,” she said.

After undergoing countless tests and the surgery, Thomas enthusiastically endorsed the process as he prepared to head home to Alaska on Friday.

“It’s a great leap for mankind, I think,” he said, referring to the ability to use technology in this way. “Brotherly love should not just be confined to our family.”