Friendship made kidney donation an easy choice
Please note—this article originally appeared on FWDailyNews.com February 1, 2010. Original Web site linkLIGONIER — Gauging the depth of a friendship is not always an easy thing to do.
But Joe Vargas of Ligonier knows exactly how much of a friend Lori Schrader is to him and his family.
In August of last year, Schrader underwent a delicate operation to have one of her kidneys removed. Minutes later, her kidney was transplanted into Vargas' body. He had been suffering from life-threatening kidney failure for the past year.
How do you thank someone who just saved your life?
It's not easy, as Vargas discovered. Words don't come easy and his eyes mist up when he is asked to consider what he owes his good friend.
Expressions and eyes speak volumes.
Schrader, 46, first met Vargas through his role as attendance officer at West Noble High School, where her three children attend or have attended. Her daughter, Wendy, first became good friends with Vargas and soon both families got to know each other, and many friendships developed.
Schrader also knew Vargas from Leti's Tacos, the family restaurant in Ligonier Joe and his wife Vicki help run.
She was having dinner at Leti's one night when Vicki Vargas told Schrader of her husband's kidney problem and the need for a transplant.
"She said the donor had to have O-positive blood, and I said 'I'm O-positive. I'll do it!' "
Schrader said the decision was easy to make. "I knew God was telling me to do it," she said. "I knew I wanted to do it as soon as I heard about it."
She contacted the transplant team at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne to get her name on the list of possible donors, and start the grueling set of tests to check her compatibility with Vargas. She was disappointed, however, when she found she was No. 6 on the list of potential donors.
As a sign of Vargas' popularity in the community, more than 25 people contacted the doctors Lutheran, offering one of their kidneys to him.
In the coming weeks, however, the five people ahead of Schrader on the list were turned down for various reasons. She was thrilled when she got the call that needed to come in for extensive testing.
Schrader had to have 32 vials of blood drawn over a two-month period to start the process. Scans of her kidneys had to be done and numerous other tests were performed to see if she would be a perfect match for the transplant.
The surgery took place on Aug. 27, 2009. There were four surgeons involved along with teams of nurses and other assistants and specialists at the Lutheran Transplant Center in Fort Wayne.
Schrader reported to the hospital at about 5 a.m. and was able to go home the next day. Vargas stayed in the hospital for about five days before being allowed to go home.
Schrader, however, found herself back in the hospital after less than two days at home. "My body was having a bad reaction to all of the pain medication I was given," she said.
As one side effect of the operation, Tylenol is the only type of pain medication she can ever take again. She also has to avoid certain juices such as grapefruit or cranberry. Other than, she said, there's no other side effects.
On her first day out of the hospital, she was at Leti's, enjoying the restaurant's famous chips and salsa. "It was the first place I wanted to go!" she said.
Vargas was on dialysis for a few months before the operation but will never have to undergo those treatments again. He lost weight as a result of the operation, going from 185 pounds to 160 pounds.
He said the transplant greatly restored his sense of taste and smell which had diminished as his kidney problem grew worse over the past 18 months.
"When I went outside of the hospital, I couldn't believe how well I could smell again," he said with a smile. "I could smell everything; the trees, the ground. It was great."
Both Schrader and Vargas said their faith in God helped them get through the ordeal.
Vargas, 54, was asked what Schrader's act of courage meant to him. "Because of her," he said, "I will see my 55th birthday."
