Rabbis have, throughout Jewish history, spoken often of community, and the importance of each individual being an active part. The great Rabbi Hillel warns that we should "not to separate ourselves from the community." (Avot 2:4) And when we speak about community, we often look at the large, defining events; the joys and the sorrows, the celebrations and the memorials. And these are important; we all benefit by sharing in our joys and supporting one another during our losses.
But we miss an essential aspect of community if we only focus on these large, transition events. We may inadvertently neglect the smaller, more frequent ways we can connect with each other, with our tradition, and with the best within our selves. I would like to offer you one way we each can be a very important part of the part of both the Temple of Aaron community, and the larger community of active Jews.
Sandy & Elizabeth Latts are fellow members with a request to help their daughter Lisa who is in need of a live donation. Please read their letter below, and consider this as one of many opportunities we can all become more involved, and strengthen our community.
Our daughter Lisa always wanted to be a mom. Last year, we were thrilled and excited to hear she was pregnant with twins. Lisa's medical specialty is at-risk pregnancies and during her own pregnancy, she did everything right -- then everything went horribly wrong. Lisa developed HELLP syndrome and had an emergency C-section. She delivered two beautiful babies, Sophie and Daniel, and although they were early and small, they did wonderfully. After the delivery, Lisa's condition quickly deteriorated and she was rushed to the ICU where she remained near death for 5 weeks. She was intubated, sedated and given more than 100 units of blood products for massive internal bleeding. She developed kidney failure and required daily dialysis and plasma exchange. She survived unimaginable odds and recovered from everything but the kidney failure. Finally, she took her babies home and we prayed that she was on her way to full recovery; we were devastated to learn that her kidneys would not recover. Her life is now filled with anxiety, discomfort and fear for the future. Three days a week, for four hours a day, she is being kept alive through dialysis treatments. She is on an extremely restrictive diet and must take a multitude of medications to manage her heath issues. Lisa can be healed, but she needs a kidney transplant. Only a transplant will allow her to get off dialysis and regain her health and her life so she can see her babies grow.
Lisa is on the wait list for a deceased donor kidney, but that will likely take 3-4 years. It is essential that Lisa find a living donor. A kidney from a living donor will last much longer and enable her to care for her children - guide their first steps, teach them to ride bikes, and watch them graduate from high school - all while working full time as a caring physician. Because of all the blood transfusions, she has many antibodies in her blood and therefore, most potential donors will not match. Several volunteers have already been tested and they are not suitable matches. For that reason, we need a large pool of donors in order to find a match that will work.
The transplant center at the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) will coordinate all the necessary testing, which can be done in the potential donor's home community. An ideal donor will be in good health, between ages 18 and 60, with no history of diabetes or high blood pressure. There is no cost to the donor for testing or any part of the transplant process, including travel.
Donating a kidney is a major decision. The National Kidney Foundation's web site http://www.kidney.org/transplantation/livingDonors/info.cfm or http://www.transplantliving.org/livingdonation/ are good sources of information if you want to learn more.
If you think you are interested in donating a kidney to Lisa or if you would like more information, please send a message to akidneyforlisa@yahoo.com. Little Sophie and Daniel are thriving - growing, eating and smiling. They are beautiful! Lisa is a remarkably brave and resilient woman, but every day is a challenge. The twins need their mom! Please help keep Lisa in their life by considering a kidney donation.
