Irene Naylor, of Piscataway, is looking forward to traveling cross-country to Arizona later this year to hold her 2-month-old twin great-grandchildren and to visit New England to attend her grandson's engagement party. These family milestones, she says, would not have been possible without the kidney transplant she received last November at the Saint Barnabas Medical Center Renal and Pancreas Transplant Center.
"I was voted 'most athletic' in high school and started a women's softball league when I was young," recalls Mrs. Naylor, whose enthusiasm for life is palpable in her quick smile and bright eyes. Always energetic, she married, adopted a daughter and worked full-time for most of her life before she began dialysis six years ago at age 62, when her kidneys failed. "One year of dialysis wiped me out," she says. "I made good friends and we uplifted each other, but it was hard to give up my life to dialysis." After a year of hemodialysis treatments she decided to begin the transplantation process.
Once on the organ transplant waiting list, Mrs. Naylor underwent a series of tests annually to ensure that she remained in good overall health. "The results always came back great," she boasts. "My granddaughter is a doctor and she told me that my chances for a transplant were better if I took all my medications when I was supposed to and exercised." Taking that advise seriously, Mrs. Naylor rode an exercise bike her sister gave her for 20 minutes/twice a day.
She clearly remembers the afternoon a compatible kidney available. "When the phone rang at once o'clock and they said 'this is Saint Barnabas Medical Center, we have a kidney for you,' my heart was beating so hard. I felt like this couldn't really be happening to me. I prayed faithfully for five years for this transplant." Within three or four days of the surgery, Mrs. Naylor began to feel its benefits. "I couldn't even remember the last time I felt so wonderful."
"Dr. Friedman told me that the tissue match was very close - almost like the donor was my twin." Mrs. Naylor is now in the process of composing a letter to the family that donated the organ. "I know they have suffered a loss," she reflects. "It's hard to find the words to thank them for such a gift."
With her vitality restored, Mrs. Naylor is back in form and planning the next get-together with 10 childhood friends who have continued to meet monthly throughout the years. "We love to play games and laugh together," she says, flashing her wide smile.
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