Birthday gift comes early for mother
Pamela Grudzinski turned 63 Sunday. Her birthday present arrived a tad early.
You might remember Grudzinski, who was featured in the April 23 column. At the time, she eagerly awaited a kidney transplant from her daughter, Emily. The impending donation had hit a snag when doctors told Emily that she must pass a $2,500 heart test before she could be ruled fit for surgery. It was money the younger Grudzinski didn't have. Neither her insurer nor Northwestern Memorial Hospital were willing to pick up the tab. Emily Grudzinski asked the hospital if she could pay for the test in installments. When the hospital failed to respond, she e-mailed What's Your Problem?
Her chief concern was that delaying the surgery would force her mom to go on dialysis, a procedure the family was hoping to avoid.
The Problem Solver called a hospital spokeswoman and explained the Grudzinskis' situation. Days later, a representative from the Kovler Organ Transplant Center called the family to say it would give Emily Grudzinski a grant to pay for the test. Shortly after the column ran, doctors performed the heart test. The younger Grudzinski passed. Several weeks later, on May 27, surgeons performed the kidney transplant.
"All went well," Pamela Grudzinski said in an e-mail to the Problem Solver last week. "Emily is incredible."
Both Grudzinskis are now home recuperating. "I'm doing good," Emily Grudzinski, 29, said Monday. "I'm still a little groggy and sleepy." She said her mother avoided dialysis, and the kidney appears to be doing well. "The doctor said it woke right up," Emily Grudzinski said. "So far, so good. I hope it lasts a long time."
The Problem Solver does too.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LIVING ORGAN DONATION OR TO REGISTER TO BE AN ORGAN DONOR, PLEASE VISIT DONATE LIFE ILLINOIS.
FOR THOSE LIVING IN OTHER STATES YOU MAY LEARN MORE BY CLICKING HERE.
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