Brandon Twp.-For Jim Warren’s 65th birthday, he received his best gift ever- a second chance at life.
Lynette Bailey gave Warren a kidney on Jan. 18th, the day after his birthday. The gift may enable Warren to see at least 20 more birthdays.
Bailey, a Goodrich resident, celebrated her birthday Feb. 19.
‘How many people get to give life at 49?? she asks, smiling.
Warren and Bailey first met 12 years ago. Lynette Bailey’s husband, Roger, had known Warren for more than 30 years, working with him at the General Motors Lake Orion plant. Warren and his wife, Sheila, began spending time with the Baileys, playing pinochle, taking trips to Frankenmuth together and sharing an interest in classic cars.
Little did Lynette Bailey know that one day she would share one of her kidneys with her friend.
In 1997, Jim Warren was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, a hereditary disorder in which cysts grow in the kidneys. The disease can reduce kidney function and cause kidney failure.
On Jan. 15, 2003, Warren’s kidneys failed and he began dialysis. He was already on a transplant list, but because of a lack of cadaver donors in Michigan, he expected to be on the list about five years.
‘It’s better to get a live donor if you can,? Warren says.
Lynette Bailey would be that donor. Before Warren had even begun dialysis, the Baileys had discussed giving their friend a kidney. Roger Bailey was the wrong blood type, but Lynette had O-type blood, matching Warren’s blood type, thus passing the first necessary test for donation. The Baileys watched Warren’s progress, hoping he would get a cadaver donor, but as time went on, he worsened. None of Warren’s other friends were potential donors, either the wrong blood-type or having pre-existing medical conditions.
While driving down I-75 one day, Lynette Bailey said to her husband, ‘We’ve talked all these years (about kidney donation). Are you with me if I do this??
He said yes. Bailey also discussed the matter with her daughter, 25, and Roger’s daughter, 35, as well as her parents. They were all supportive. On Jan. 28, 2005, Bailey completed her initial application to be a donor and mailed it, even though a biologically related male was considered to be Warren’s best option and a non-related female his worst. In March, she went to get blood drawn. In April, she received a call telling her she was a match.
‘The odds were against that,? she says. ‘Only 1 in 50,000 people are matches and people who are a match have to pass a physical, which only 30 percent do.?
Warren initially said he wouldn’t take a kidney from a living person. He was concerned about something happening to Bailey’s remaining kidney. But he was told that even if she had both her kidneys, if one became diseased, the other would, too.
When Warren learned Bailey was a match, he told her, ‘You’re giving me my life back.?
The doctors originally questioned whether Bailey’s kidney was adequate in size to function for Warren.
‘I had to fight with them,? Bailey said. ‘But once we got over that hurdle, I passed the rest of the tests with flying colors.?
The testing took eight months, during which time Bailey also received a lot of support from her co-workers at Delphi in Troy. The go-ahead finally came near Thanksgiving, but Warren and Bailey wanted to wait until after the holidays.
As the Jan. 18 surgery date approached at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Bailey kept thinking she would get scared. The doctors had warned her of the possibility, as with any surgery, that she wouldn’t wake up from the anesthetic, as well as the risk of damaging the kidney while removing it or damaging another organ. There was also the possibility that after going through all of it, Warren’s body could reject Bailey’s kidney, even though they were considered a good match.
Still, Bailey was relaxed about it all, as was Warren. Their spouses were the ones who were scared.
‘We were nervous,? admits Roger Bailey, who as a medic in the service knew how things could go wrong.
Finally, the day arrived. Lynette Bailey remembers the words she and Warren shared before the surgery.
‘The last words I said to Jim and him to me was ‘I love you,?? she says and then, smiling at her husband sitting next to her, adds, ‘I think Roger’s getting jealous.? He says that Jim tells me he loves me more often than he does.?
Warren and Bailey had surgical rooms next to one another and each had their own medical team. Bailey’s surgery began first, while 20 friends and family members (including Warren’s two adult children) gathered in the waiting room.
Lynette was in the operating room for five hours, while doctors cut part of one of her ribs, opened her diaphragm and pushed her lung up to remove the smaller of her two kidneys to give to Warren.
Warren’s surgery took six hours, with doctors leaving in the old kidneys and making an incision in front and installing the new kidney.
‘It was still warm when I got it and pumping blood before it was even totally hooked up,? says Warren, who called the operation ‘very successful.?
About two hours after the surgery, Warren told Roger Bailey if they took the tubes out, he could jump out of bed.
Warren felt and looked better immediately.
‘My color had improved, the itching was gone, I just felt better,? says Warren, who noted dialysis had only filtered 10 percent of the toxins, but he was glad he’d had dialysis because he appreciated the surgery even more. ‘My eyes were clear, my fingernails were pink instead of white, my hands didn’t hurt anymore.?
Roger Bailey wheeled his wife in to see Warren 24 hours after the surgeries were complete and she was stunned at the change in their friend.
‘I couldn’t get over the difference in how he looked,? she says. ‘It was great.?
Bailey became the third female in her family (over the course of 28 years) to be a living kidney donor. Bailey’s brother-in-law has also given a kidney to his daughter who has lupus.
Bailey and Warren have been told by doctors that patients who receive a cadaver kidney have an increased life span of nine to ten years after receiving the kidney, while patients who receive a kidney from a living donor can expect to a life span of 20-25 years or more.
Bailey left the hospital four days after her surgery, while Warren returned home six days after. They praised the pain management at Beaumont and are recovering well. Their staples (28 for Bailey, 30 for Warren) have been removed.
Bailey took a semester off from classes at the University of Phoenix in Troy and won’t return to work until eight weeks from the time of the surgery.
‘I feel great about this,? she says. ‘Knowing what I know now, I’d do it all over again.?
Warren is hopeful he won’t ever need another kidney and is grateful for the one he has.
‘It’s the difference between daylight and dark,? he says. ‘I can’t thank her enough. There are no words.?
Bailey looks at him and smiles.
‘He doesn’t need to,? she says. ‘Not everyone can do this. If you’re at peace with your life and where you are, it probably helps in the decision-making process.?
They look at each other across the table, two people who share a special bond.
‘I love her and thank her for it,? Warren says simply.
Bailey smiles and responds, ‘I love him, too, and he’s very welcome. It was the right thing to do.?