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Organ transplant
Patient Information
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Roberta Prater
By Carolyn Schwartz
Features Editor
October 3, 2002
A brother overcame his aversion to needles when he learned that his sister's health was declining and her only hope was a kidney transplant.
"I was shocked that Arnold would do this," said Roberta Prater of her brother, Arnold Howell. "He is scared to death of needles. Even when his children went to the health department for shots, he stayed in the car: This amazed me."
Prater discovered the change her life would take when she found it impossible to keep her blood pressure under control. Nothing her doctor tried helped.
"Finally they did a renal test and said that my kidneys were deteriorating," Prater said. "That was in 2000."
A contributing factor to Prater's condition was her diabetes which does run in her family and with which she has dealt for 24 years. Tests were run in June 2001 at the University of Kentucky Transplant Center in Lexington and the determination was that she would need dialysis or a kidney transplant to improve her quality of life.
“What am I gonna do?” was Prater's plea. Her only child, Tammy Purdon, was tested but was not a compatible donor. Then two siblings, Connie Carpenter and Arnold Howell, volunteered to be tested. Both were compatible matches.
“I had to think about what to do," Howell said. "My sister Connie has two small children. I wanted to talk with my wife and my family before I made a decision.”
"He called me on a Wednesday evening and said, “I'll give you a kidney," Prater said.
And so events were set in motion. Howell began a series of tests, some of which included the use of needles, in March 2002 to insure the compatibility of the kidney match.
"There were blood tests constantly and X-rays and ultrasounds," Howell said of the three-month procedure.
Prater entered the hospital on July 10, 2002 so that they could do preliminary testing. The transplant was to take place the next day.
Howell was taken into the operating room at 8 a.m. on July 11 for what was to be a laparoscopic procedure. However, the doctors discovered his kidney was too large to be removed that way and had to do a standard incision. Prater followed an hour later.
In addition, her blood pressure has improved and it seems easier to control her diabetes, Prater said.
Prater retired from Nine West in 1997 and spends time with her 5-year-old granddaughter Jamie.
Howell is in his final year of study at the Sunshine School of Evangelism in St. Paul. He currently serves as pastor of the Petersville Church of Christ. His devotion to his church was noted when he told his sister his “kidney was used to being in church on Sundays." He and his wife Judy have three children and five grandchildren.
The camaraderie between the duo was obvious as Prater stated that now she only had one (working) kidney. “Well, I only have one, too," Howell reminded her. Laughter followed their assessment of their new physical condition.
"Reprinted by permission."
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