‘Providence' leads to kidney transplant

I love seeing God's handy work in action. What a beautiful, loving example of the Kingdom of God here on earth. Enjoy connecting the dots and seeing the face of God.

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Donation: Events bring women together, resulting in the gift of a kidney
Reprinted from the Tacoma News Tribune
KRIS SHERMAN; STAFF WRITER
Published: 05/27/10 12:05 am



Some would call it a string of fortunate coincidences.

Tammy and Larry Aegerter and Michelle and Mark Braunschweig call it providence.

There was a conversation between airline passengers. A call for help in a church bulletin. A grandmother’s broken hip. An introduction at a party in celebration of menopause.

All led to twin surgical suites at the University of Washington Medical Center, where Michelle Braunschweig gave Tammy Aegerter her left kidney May 5.

Tammy, a 44-year-old Dash Point-area mother of seven, was in extreme need. A rare disease destroyed her kidneys years ago. The organ her brother donated in 1991 had failed. Now she’s recovering well. Michelle, a 39-year-old Auburn mother, says she’s feeling fine, though she’s still moving a bit gingerly.

Two years ago the women didn’t know each other.

Now they are friends.

But their story differs from those you often hear about people who need transplants and strangers who donate life-sustaining organs.

It’s a six-degrees-of-separation tale. One connection led to another, and another, and another.

The Braunschweigs and the Aegerters, both couples deeply religious, believe Michelle’s left kidney was destined for Tammy from the day Michelle was conceived.

The surgeons who implanted the kidney told Larry the organ was a perfect fit, that everything “was right there.”

Before Tammy was out of surgery, her new kidney began cleansing her blood.

“I’ve never heard so many doctors excited about seeing urine,” she said.

God’s hand brought them together, uniting two families in the process, they say.

“We don’t use the word ‘coincidence,’ ” Mark said.

“Providence,” Michelle added.

THE CALENDAR

February 2007: Tammy is listed on UNOS, the United Network for Organ Sharing, as a transplant candidate.

Sept. 7, 2007: Joe Ferong, stepfather of Larry, sits next to Len Bundy on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Oakland. Bundy, an associate pastor at The Summit church in Enumclaw, would later invite Ferong, a staunch Catholic, to come and worship. Ferong ultimately visits and joins the church.

April 2008: A notice is placed in The Summit’s church bulletin about Tammy Aegerter’s need for a kidney. Michelle Braunschweig sees it and begins thinking about a possible donation.

Nov. 3, 2008: Larry and Tammy Aegerter, in their roles as volunteer firefighters, answer a call at the home of Mark’s parents, Joe and Sherry Braunschweig. Mark’s grandmother, Anna Osthus, who’s in her 80s, had broken her hip. A few days later, Larry and Tammy stop by St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way to see how Osthus is doing. They briefly meet Mark.

Dec. 22, 2008: Larry’s mom, Terri Ferong, throws a celebration of menopause party. Among the guests is Michelle Braunschweig, who is introduced to Tammy. Tammy doesn’t know Michelle is a potential donor; Michelle meets a warm person she thinks she’d like to help.

July 7, 2009: Michelle begins the process of becoming a donor for Tammy.

October 2009: Tammy begins dialysis, her body no longer able to filter her blood. The treatments leave her nauseated, vomiting and exhausted.

Feb. 5, 2010: After months of testing and blood matching, doctors pronounce Michelle a healthy and fit donor for Tammy.

April 2010: Doctors tell Tammy dialysis won’t work much longer. “The kidney was done,” she said.

May 5, 2010: Tammy receives Michelle’s left kidney in a six-hour procedure at University of Washington Medical Center.

THE POWER OF GIVING

The Aegerters and the Braunschweigs discovered along the way they have much in common. Both couples are active in their respective churches – for the Aegerters, it’s Family Life Christian Center in Federal Way; for the Braunschweigs, it’s The Summit, an Evangelical Free church in Enumclaw.

Tammy and Michelle are homeschoolers, teaching core values to their children along with other subjects. Both couples believe in the power of giving, offering comfort and aid.

The Aegerters are volunteers for Pierce County Fire District 13, Browns Point-Dash Point; each has an emergency medical technician certification.

“They are a great, caring, giving family,” Assistant Chief Cliff McCollum said.

Both got their starts in EMT classes McCollum taught. Larry is a firefighter and medical responder; Tammy’s heart aches to learn and perform the more rigorous firefighting duties, but her weakened body holds her back, McCollum said. So she rides out on EMS calls and helps with CPR classes.

Larry has served in the Army, the Air Force and the National Guard, his record totaling about 15 years. He’s currently an active-duty reservist in the 446th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where he teaches survival skills.

He and Tammy met a few years ago while each was a flight attendant at Horizon Airlines. She was a single mother of five. Their family now includes Katie, 23; Alex, 21; Mya, 16; Max, 14; Noah, 13; Hannah, 11; and Haakon, 3.

The Braunschweigs have one daughter, Kacy, 18. Mark owns a commercial window business. The couple is active in church work: he, in men’s ministry and leadership; she, in the youth program.

Though many people told Michelle they couldn’t imagine giving up a vital organ, she knew she was called to the task. “God just kind of laid it on my heart,” she said.

“I couldn’t imagine – knowing that I have what she needs to save her life – and looking into Tammy’s eyes and saying, ‘No, I can’t do that,’” Michelle said.

She worried initially about the effect an organ donation might have on her family’s finances and her health, but both fears were quickly allayed.

She was healthy enough for the rigorous surgery and could live with one kidney, doctors said. Costs were covered by Tammy’s and Larry’s insurance plans and by a donor program.

THE NEED IS GREAT

The message Michelle wants people to take away from this story is that organ donation might be inconvenient, but the rewards are well worth the short-term pain.

“And at a minimum, list organ donor on your driver’s license,” her husband, Mark, said.

Tammy and Michelle both have O-positive blood. Though not all of the chemistry fit perfectly, there were enough crucial components to make a match.

Most people believe your donor must be a close relative, but with advances in immunosuppresants, that’s no longer necessary, said Dr. Leanna Tyshler of the Northwest Kidney Centers.

The need is great, and kidneys are in highest demand.

About 107,000 patients are awaiting organ transplants in the U.S. according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Nearly 85,000, or about 79 percent, need kidneys. Seattle medical centers – University of Washington, Virginia Mason and Swedish – perform about 240 adult transplants annually, Tyshler said.

A transplant, Mark Braunschweig said, is a wonder to behold.

“I probably cried more on Wednesday (the day of the surgery) than I have in 20 years,” he added.

“Every bit of good news that we received (from the operating rooms) was just an opportunity to rejoice.”

HELP FOR FAMILY IN NEED

Firefighters at Fire District 13 “passed the boot” to collect money for the Aegerters, McCollum said. The Browns Point Diner helped with a spaghetti feed. Though insurance will cover many bills, there are still expenses.

While Tammy was in the hospital, Larry thought he’d surprise her with a bit of remodeling and install a new bathtub. He found a dead rat and four anthills beneath the tub, plus mold and dry rot that ran into the kitchen.

Now an unexpected remodel is under way; doctors banned Tammy and her fragile immune system from the house until two weeks after the work is complete. The family is staying in the home of an aunt who recently died.

Last week, the men of their two churches started remodeling parts of the Aegerters’ 1,200-square-foot house. Their work is just a small part of God’s larger construction project, the families say.

“When you can step back and see all the interweaving, the interconnectedness” that led to Tammy’s transplant, you know a divine hand was building it all, Mark said.

MORE INFORMATION

To help: http://www.tammyskidney.org

To learn more: http://www.nwkidney.org and http://www.unos.org

A Bishop for the Forces

Republished from Whispers In The Loggia Blog (http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/)



In just the fourth Saturday appointment in as many years for these shores, this morning the Pope named Fr F. Richard Spencer, 58 -- a priest of Baltimore on Army duty since 1988 -- as auxiliary bishop for the 1.5 million-member archdiocese for the Military Services USA.

Having served six years in the Army before entering Baltimore's St Mary's Seminary, the Alabama-born Lieutenant Colonel (right) was ordained in 1988, just shy of his 37th birthday; according to AMS, he initially enlisted to the Franciscans, but transferred to the Premier See on being scouted by the recently-passed Archbishop William Borders, an Army chaplain in World War II.

Since returning to the Forces, Spencer's been stationed as a chaplain in Korea, the Sinai Desert, the Pentagon, Iraq and most recently in Europe as deputy command chaplain for the forces stationed there.

Upon his ordination (date still pending), the bishop-elect will join Archbishop Timothy Broglio and his two auxiliaries in overseeing a particularly sprawling local church, one that encompasses every US military installation at home and abroad, its membership rivaling or exceeding such prominent outposts as Detroit, Philadelphia, Galveston-Houston and Miami. Its roots dating to 1917 -- when it was established as an ordinariate under the supervision of the archbishops of New York -- this year marks the silver jubilee of AMS' spinoff as a freestanding jurisdiction, led by its own archbishop.

The military nod wasn't the US church's only appearance in this morning's dispatches. In a move recognizing a canonist held as one of the nation's "premier" specialists in church law, the pontiff named Dr Edward Peters -- the discipline's lead hand at Detroit's Sacred Heart Major Seminary -- as a referendare of the Apostolic Signatura, a consultant to the church's highest court. (One now, of course, led by its first-ever American prefect.)

A blogger and father of six beyond the classroom, the honor for a layman is unique -- Peters becomes the lone non-cleric among the dozen or so consultors. What's more, the four priests likewise added to the group this morning are all based in Rome or Milan.

Author Rocco Palmo

Meet America's Oldest Deacon

Republished from Deacon's Path Blog (http://blog.beliefnet.com/deaconsbench/)



If I'm lucky, and God doesn't mind, (and I haven't lost what's left of my marbles) maybe this one day could be me: Lou Weitzel piloted a B-24 bomber over Europe during World War II, helped Ford Motor Co. integrate its production in Canada, and now each Sunday he serves as a deacon for St. Rita's Catholic Church in Clark Lake [Michigan].

At 90, Weitzel is the oldest active deacon serving in the Catholic Church in the United States, an achievement for which he was honored Sunday.

"He is a dedicated leader in whatever area it is," said Tom Weitzel, his son. "With the family or during his time at Ford Motor Co., he always led by example."

Weitzel was born May 18, 1920, in Zionsville, Ind., to Urban and Mary Weitzel in a family that held a deep faith in the Catholic Church. Weitzel was the youngest of four boys. Each boy went on to serve in the church.

However, for Weitzel his journey took a somewhat different path.

After two years studying engineering at both the University of Notre Dame and Purdue University, Weitzel yearned to become a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. The war in Europe was just beginning to break out, and he wanted to serve in the air.

However, early on in his training he was informed that he would not be given the chance to be a pilot. He said his youth kept him out of the "pilot fraternity" at the time. That did not stop him. He just went to another air force, specifically the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Weitzel said the Canadian forces were looking for pilots in the United States who were not serving. He said citizenship did not matter, just the commitment.

Until 1943, he flew patrol missions in England for the Royal Air Force. It was then the U.S. Air Force called on him for help and as Weitzel puts it, "he was purchased by the USAF to fly missions over Europe." He flew 33 combat missions and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After the war, he went on to work for Ford Motor Co. with Production Control. He spent 33 years with Ford and retired in 1980. At that time, he lived in Livonia and spent many hours at St. Aiden's Church.

After his wife's death in 1987, Weitzel began thinking more of church service. After he moved full time to his summer home on Lake Somerset in Columbia Township, he wanted to find a role at St. Rita's. So he went on to train as a deacon and was ordained in 1992 . He has been serving at St. Rita's since.

Church parishioner Michael Bradford said the only description of Weitzel "is that he is an inspiration to all of us."

And all of us deacons, too! Ad multos annos! And a happy, happy birthday, too!

Author Deacon Greg Kandra