By Melissa Robinson
Co-Editor

  McDonough resident, Monta Brown, was enjoying life in Syracuse, NY, running his restaurant and working hard. In his late twenties and the picture of health, Brown took fitness seriously, ate right and never had any serious health concerns. So when he experienced some stomach distress, he took it in stride, relying on over the counter remedies to cure what ailed him. After, several weeks of uncharacteristic indigestion, Brown was urged by a radiologist friend to come in for some tests. Not detecting anything, he referred Brown to a gastroenterologist.

Beverly Williamson, heart transplant recipient, teaches Alexandria, Mariam, and Jayla the disciplines required for ballet at a studio in Stockbridge. Photo by Jimmie Cochran

  After a battery of tests and a biopsy, Brown heard the unimaginable. He had a rare form of kidney disease called Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and had to go on dialysis and a kidney transplant list. Brown immediately began to research the disease that would eventually make him so sick.

  “I just said to myself that I have always been a fighter, a tough guy trying to overcome adversity. I went to the health food store and got a book to learn about the disease,” he said.

  He eventually moved back to the Atlanta area to be closer to family during the treatment he had already begun in New York. All total, Brown underwent 11 years of dialysis, which is a process that removes waste and water from the blood, temporarily performing some of the functions of the kidneys. He spent countless weeks in and out of hospitals dealing with complications from his disease.

  “Towards the end, before the surgery, I was extremely tired, always nauseous and sensitive to smells and achy. Really just sick as a dog,” he said.

  On March 30, 2005, Brown got the call from Emory. They had a kidney and it was a match.

  Brown currently serves on the McDonough City Council and is  active in the community. Today, he is healthy and credits his recovery to education, his faith in a higher power and mind over matter.

  “I constantly read self-healing and inspirational and empowering books. I totally believe in mind over matter. It’s extremely important to educate yourself about your condition as well as how to lead a healthy life,” he said. 

  Brown and several other Henry County residents have at least one thing in common. They are alive and healthy today because of organ donation. Thousands of people in the United States are waiting for a life saving organ, and many of them never get it.

  According to the United States Government Information on Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation, as of August of this year, 108,091 men, women and children are on a waiting list to receive an organ transplant. Every ten minutes, another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list and an average of 18 people die each day from a lack of available organs.

  McDonough resident Doug Riffey was a successful pilot and enjoyed an exciting and lucrative career. Although he suffered from kidney disease, he was conscious of his health and took it seriously. After 20 years, the disease took a final toll on his organs. He was in end stage renal disease and had to go on dialysis.

  “Dialysis clinics are not happy places,” said Riffey. “Often times, these poor people have had lower extremities amputated. They look so sick, but by being there on a regular basis, you make friends, and unfortunately, some of those friends die.”

  Riffey, who was 61 when he started dialysis, stayed on it for four years, alternating between different kinds of dialysis. He said that although dialysis allows you to function, it makes you feel sick all of the time. He said that after losing his clearances to fly from being sick, depression eventually set in and, in addition to the painful 15 gauge needles used for dialysis and other physical pitfalls, the fact that you are no longer in charge and have to rely on others is a humbling experience.

  Riffey registered with a national transplant list, as well as other state lists in order to increase his chances of obtaining a new kidney. On February 7, 2010, during the Super Bowl, he received the call that would change his life. Piedmont Hospital had a kidney and it was a match. He remembers that day clearly, and appreciates everyday with his new lease on life.

  Today, Riffey takes a plethora of anti-rejection medications and has frequent visits to the doctor’s office, but is grateful for his second chance. His best advice to anyone is to have a yearly checkup to keep blood pressure and blood sugar in check.

  “Go to the doctor and spend a $100 if you have to. It just makes good sense. A lot of people don’t think about it, but it will give you piece of mind and hopefully prevent a serious problem,” said Riffey

  Beverly Williamson has been teaching ballet for 55 years, keeping her petite, slender frame in shape through exercise and a healthy lifestyle. But 15 years ago, a viral infection caused Williamson to suffer a major heart attack and she was rushed into surgery for a quadruple bypass. Although she survived the surgery, the prognosis was grim. Her heart had been severely damaged and she was placed on a list for a heart transplant.

  For seven months she waited, until the call came from Emory.

  “Back then, they used beepers, and they called me on the beeper at 3:30 a.m.,” said Williamson. “I was home with my two teenage sons and the hospital said you need to be here in an hour and you’ll be in surgery within two hours.”

  Williamson, now 76, received the heart of a 15 year-old young man named Clayton from Gwinnett County. After being declared brain dead, the hospital waited long enough for his Daddy to get to the hospital to say goodbye. His parents then made the decision to donate his organs, and on that day, 45 people received the gift of life from him.

  Williamson said she wasn’t the first person the hospital called, but the other woman they called wasn’t ready to go through with the operation. Williamson saw it as a sign of God’s will being in control, but she said she couldn’t help think of Clayton’s mother and what had to be the worst day of her life. Because of her teenage son’s tragic accident, Williamson lived to see her own two sons grow up and graduate and even walk down the aisle.

  Four years after her heart transplant, Williamson had the opportunity to meet her donor’s mother. She said it was an emotional meeting but led to a different kind of mission for the two women. They speak to groups about organ donation and tell their personal stories, which often shock those in the audience.

  “First, Clayton’s mother gets up and speaks of her worst day, telling about her son. Then I stand up and tell my story and accomplishments and then reveal that I have his heart. It’s very emotional and most of the audience is in tears, but it tells an important story,” said Williamson.

  Williamson says she lives life to the fullest to pay tribute to the boy whose heart beats within her, as she teaches ballet through the heart of a child. She abides by her daily regimen of anti-rejection medications, considering it a small price to pay for a second chance at life.

  “I’ve been truly blessed in so many ways. I have a wonderful church and family support,” said Williamson. “I put it in God’s control and couldn’t have survived any of this without my faith.”

  Williamson said that 10 days after her transplant surgery she attended church and 14 days later, she was back to teaching ballet.

  Fifteen year-old Clinton DeLee is too young to remember the schedule of daily medications and trips to the doctor, but his parents do. Ed and Renee DeLee of McDonough remember the day clearly when doctors told them that their two-week old baby boy was in chronic kidney failure and would eventually need a kidney transplant. A healthy eight pound, twelve ounce baby, the DeLees could not believe what they were hearing.

  “It was devastating. He was so little and he needed a feeding tube to make sure he got enough nutrition to grow right,” said Ed DeLee. “He didn’t have to do dialysis but he had to take a lot of medications and shots.”

  From birth until the transplant at age three, Clinton went through five surgeries, countless doctor’s visits and thousands of doses of medication. The DeLees learned more than they ever thought they would have to when their little boy became ill.

  When Clinton was just three years old, Ed DeLee received the call from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egelston. There was a terrible train accident in a northern state. A sixteen year-old boy who died in the accident was a perfect match.

  Although now a healthy teenager, the DeLees make sure that Clinton takes his anti-rejection medication and they stay on top of his health, trekking to the doctor every month for lab work and every three months to Egleston for a checkup. Due to the transplant, there are certain medications and immunizations that are off limits, but DeLee said his son is a happy and healthy teenager today because of the organ transplant surgery he received many years ago.

  “He’s a card. He’s one of the happiest kids I know. He loves to cut up, he loves life and he loves people,” said DeLee. “He does everything. He plays the guitar and is very active.”

  Organ transplant surgery is responsible for all of these individuals, and thousands of others, having a better quality of life, if not a second chance at living, although it’s not a subject that most people want to think about. In many cases, when an organ becomes available, it’s because the donor has died in a tragic, unexpected accident. One family’s loss becomes another’s gain.

  Organs that can be donated after a person is deceased include heart, lungs, liver, kidney, pancreas and intestine, as well as tissue, such as skin, cornea, bone and heart valves. A living donor can give a kidney or a portion of the lung, liver or pancreas, or intestine, as well bone marrow.

  People have various reasons for not becoming organ donors, however, many of those reasons are based on fear or misinformation. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), several myths surround organ donation. The truth is that emergency doctors work to save the lives of patients whether they are organ donors or not. Organ donation is only considered as an option after a patient is declared brain dead. Also, most major religions, including, Christianity, Judaism and Islam allow for organ donation. Very few sects prohibit it.

  Organizations across the country and here in Georgia are working diligently to bring organ donation to the forefront. The most important thing to know is that if you want to be an organ donor, it’s important to communicate that wish to family and friends. Although many people indicate on their driver’s licenses, in an emergency situation, a license isn’t always readily available.

  “Let your family know your wishes,” said Williamson. “It’s not enough just to put it on your license.”

  No one likes to think about their own mortality, but organ donation can truly be the gift of life. There are several organizations for organ donation and transplant information.

 To learn more, please visit www.organdonor.gov, www.lifelink.org, www.donatelife.net and www.unos.org.