Day 4 of Legacy Tour

Kenosha

In Kenosha, Kathy Vilski took the stand to share her experience as a kidney recipient. When Vilski was only three years old she became sick with strep throat, which ultimately landed an infection on her kidneys leaving her with kidney disease. The problems in her kidneys grew from acute to chronic. From that time until she was almost 20, Vilski was on a salt-free diet and under close medical supervision, yet, she said, she still lead a pretty normal life for a kid her age.

That ‘normal life’ changed when she was in her late twenties and, as she said ‘the balance sort of tipped.’ The kidney disease caused scarring in her kidneys over the years, and now that build up of scar tissue began to overwhelm the good tissue and her kidney function dropped off.

At that point in time, Vilski went on dialysis twice a week. In 1975, Vilski was all set to have her spleen removed, which she said, is what doctors often did back then, but on September 17th, just months before the operation would take place, she was told doctors found a new kidney for her. She later found out, doctors had only just approved her for the donor waiting list the day before. She called it a miracle that things worked out this way.

“A day earlier or a day later and I would not have gotten the kidney,” she said. Her new kidney, a better match than her own mother’s, came from a deceased donor, who she believes was from the Kenosha area.

Vilski remained in the hospital for seven weeks after the transplant. When she was healed, she returned to teaching. Vilski has now been retired for 25 years.

“It’s been a wonderful experience,” said Vilski. “I just feel very blessed because I was able to teach all those years and, I hope, influence some lives there in some small way.”

She and her husband spend their time together traveling and attending concerts and plays.

This September it will have been 35 years since she received her gift of a kidney. She and her family are planning a party for the anniversary. That is, after Vilski competes in her first ever Transplant Games! She’s planning on swimming some of the individual races and said if she can she wants to also join in the 5k Run/Walk for Organ, Tissue and Eye Donation with the community on July 31st at 9:00 a.m. at the Capitol Square.

Wendy Healy also shared her son’s donor story. Healy’s son Merritt died in a motorcycle crash only days after discussing his desire to be an organ donor with his mom.

Because of the crash, Merritt’s organs could not be donated, but his tissue could be. That tissue touched the lives of 72 people. A final act of kindness by Merritt from the son Healy calls ‘wonderful.’

“Now, 72 people have better lives,” Healy said. “My son didn’t die for nothing.”

Just a reminder, if you haven’t signed up online to be a donor, the Web site is YesIWillWisconsin.com. Having a dot on your driver’s license isn’t enough anymore. The online registry is legally binding. All you need to sign up is a driver’s license or state ID. There is also no age cap on the registry, in other words, you can’t be too old to sign up. :)

Links to media coverage:

http://www.kenoshanews.com/scripts/edoris/edoris.dll?tem=lsearchart&search_iddoc=9115709