Mother of 4 donates her Kidney to stranger!!

Raegan and Donor Staci
I had never heard of caringbridge before until a friend had a child with a disease that ended up taking her life also but that was when I was introduced to caringbridge and basically a whole new world. I have been very fortunate to live in a world with healthy kids and no one really close to me has ever had any major issues with there kids either. After following my friends site many others from different sites would sign on so basically I started going to these sites and offering prayers but always felt awful that I could not do more. It broke my heart that I could spend day after day finding new sites of sick kids it got to the point where I was so involved and depressed for all of these sick kids suffering and the parents who have to sit by and watch helpless that I had to quit going on to so many but yet I did not want to fool myself that the world was this perfect place either. I followed about 25 sites regularly after that and just told myself I could not keep going onto new sites all the time.

Evan was one I followed regularly but then one day for some reason I stopped getting the email updates from caringbridge so had to try and go off of memory who I had followed. After I saw Joel Wagners posting yesterday I was able to get the spelling of your last name and get caught up on what I had missed which was alot! Anyway I one day was reading on one of my regular sites and they had a request to go to a site of alittle girl who needed help so even though I had told myself I would not get involved in anymore I felt compelled to go the site and read about Raegan and how she needed a kidney. Her mother had planned on being the donor and when the time came she went thru the testing expecting it all to be fine and found out she had kidneys stones. I read her update the day they found out and all it said was I can not donate we are crushed that is all I can say and I just felt I had to try and see if I could help. I pictured one of my kids laying there as I had with many of teh other children I follow but thought this may be one I can actually help.

It was so strange reading your daughters words because I just had the feeling from day one that I would be the donor and it would all be fine even when they called to tell me I was a match but they had 2 others that were already in the 2nd phase of testing so I would probably not be needed I thought wow I just really felt like I would be doing this but great if they have someone so she can get the transplant sooner. Well about a month later I got a call that the other 2 donors were unable to donate after finding things in their exams so would I still be interested in pursuing and moving forward which of course I said yes. I got squeezed in pretty quickly and made the trip up for testing about 2 weeks later. I met Raegan and her parents and there was an instant connection.

It was a grueling week but I finally got the call that I was ok to donate so I called the Lombardis who had also been on pins and needles and told them and it was one of the happiest things I have ever been able to say to anyone.Most of my friends and family were very supportive only a few who questioned it but would support me no matter what and my husband was really upset about it at 1st just cause he worried about me and my health and having 4 young kids. I just told him it was not something I could walk away from because if something happened to her and she died before getting another kidney I would never be able to live with that. He understood and after getting more educated on it and meeting the family he was much better.

I pushed to get the surgery done quickly because the waiting and worrying about Raegan getting sick or myself would change everything so another 2 weeks and I was up and donating. I had some issues after with terrible nauseau but pain wise was not terrible. If it had not been for the nauseau the recovery would have been pretty simple actually. I also ended up having to have another minor surgery about 5 weeks later as the incision in my belly button had a reaction to the stitches which infected it.Both of my issues were total fluke things but would not sway me from doing it again. Saving a life and giving someone many years is worth about 5-6 weeks recovery for me.

My life has not changed physically at all I do all the things I did before and can not tell I am missing a kidney at all. After seeing how low the statistics are for living donors I was shocked and started trying to get the word out and educate people that they can easily save a life and help. Even if it is not a kidney or organ but simply blood or bone marrow it can save a life.

There were many angels looking out for us as the odds of me ever coming across Raegans site were low and the day before I was to come for testing they had gotten a call for a deceased donor kidney and were worried I may not be a candidate also so they had decided to take the kidney but after many delays and mishaps the kidney would not have arrived in time so they had to let it go so it is like everything was meant to happen the way it did.

Raegan went home for the 1st time ever after only 2 weeks and is doing great. The Lombardi's say all the time how grateful they are to me and how special I am but to me I am the lucky and blessed one to have been able to help such a precious child and in the process earn a whole new family. When I started this to me it was all about Raegan so when the news station called after hearing the story and the newspaper called i was very leary about doing interviews because to me it was about Raegan but then I realized if I did these things maybe one person would be watching and reading and say hey I could do that and try and help someone else. There really is no words that can describe the gift I gave and the feeling of amazement I get from it. When I hear them say raegan lives and breathes because of you it is so hard for me to wrap my brain around that. As a parent I just feel that many others would feel the same if they had the education.

That is basically our story in a nutshell like I said in my previous email please let me know if I can be of any help to you and your quest to get awareness out there. I am doing what I can and would love to do more. I applaud you for how you have turned your tragedy into triumph and making Evans life count and even after death he is still performing great things truly amazing!

Staci