Billings Woman Takes Search for New Kidney to the Streets
The human body is a crazy thing. So many times over my years of playing sports I didn't think there was any way I could play in a game on the weekend when I was dealing with an injury on a Thursday or Friday. But the body just seems to find a way to get itself ready on a deadline. And I still find it fascinating that we can break a bone and the thing just grows back together! What kind of sorcery is at play with something like that?
When my dad was having health issues a few years back he ended up on dialysis for his kidneys. He got through the process pretty quickly and the doctor seemed pretty impressed. But additional issues forced him back on dialysis a short time later and the doctor didn't have much in the way of high hopes for round two. With multiple kidney issues in such a short amount of time, the doctor said the worst-case scenario was that my dad could need the machines for the rest of his life. He ended up getting off dialysis again after a week or so and I'll never forget the look the doctor gave me when he told me how he couldn't believe it. So yep, I'm always amazed at what the human body can do.
Those adventures of my dad came to mind as I was reading a KPAX story of a Billings woman and her search for a kidney. Chris Coats has been seen recently on the streets of Billings with signs in hand. And if you didn't take a minute to pay attention to what the signs said you might think she was asking for money. But the signs are helping with her search for something much more important than a few bucks. Chris is using the signs to ask for help in finding a possible kidney donor.
It's a pretty crazy story. Chris has polycystic kidney disease and learned about it when she was in her teens. She's now 67 and a trip to the doctor last year revealed her kidneys were at 10% functionality. She was put on a transplant list but says a different doctor should have probably had her on a list four or five years earlier. Dialysis is in her future and with the possible wait time of being on the list, Chris is hoping her sign will catch the attention of someone that is willing to step up and donate a kidney to a stranger.
I sure hope we see a follow-up story that has all the details of a successful donor and transplant for Chris Coats. As she hits the streets in search of possible donors there is also an online fundraiser that has been started to help raise funds. While it's amazing what the human body can do, it's even more amazing what people can come together and do.