East Stroudsburg North bus driver donates organ to ailing co-worker
By Beth BreljePocono Record Writer
Would you give a co-worker a kidney? Without a second's hesitation, East Stroudsburg North bus driver Bernadette Rodriguez is.
She undergoes surgery Wednesday at Lehigh Valley Medical Center with fellow bus driver Jesse Gonzales.
FUNDRAISER
A pasta dinner fundraiser benefiting Jesse Gonzales and Bernadette Rodriguez will be held 5:30 to 9 p.m. Nov. 13 at Middle Smithfield Elementary School.
The cost is $7 for adults and $5 for children.
The dinner is sponsored by the East Stroudsburg North bus drivers. All proceeds will go to helping Gonzales and Rodriguez financially during their recovery.
"I'm a Christian and always think, 'What would Jesus do?'" Rodriguez said.
It was the question she asked herself after learning that Gonzales' two adult sons were not a donor match.
"I thought, 'Oh, my God, Jesus would heal him.' So I decided to follow him, and that is what he (Jesus) did," said Rodriguez, 41, a mother of two.
It wasn't the first time a co-worker came to Gonzales' aid. East Stroudsburg North bus drivers have paid insurance bills and held benefits to help pay his medical costs.
"I didn't realize there is love out there — that there are people who really care," said Gonzales, 46.
Energy-sapping routine
A routine check-up in February revealed Gonzales' kidneys were operating at 7 percent efficiency.
He went to a clinic for hemodialysis for six months — a process that left him too weak to work.
More recently, he has been able to self-administer peritoneal dialysis at home.
Gonzales wakes at 2 a.m. to pour the day's first dialysis fluid into an implanted tube. Stomach cramps and acid reflux are expected each time he loads the liquid. Gonzales must be still while waiting two hours for the fluid to clean his system.
At 4 a.m., he flushes the fluid out of his body. The process is repeated six times a day, or 12 hours daily. Though the process depletes his energy, he recovers quicker than with the treatments at the clinic and is able to work.
Sickness doesn't make the bills go away, however. Gonzales has been working, driving a school bus, while waiting for a transplant match.
"If I don't work, I lose my (health insurance) benefits," Gonzales said. Kidney patients generally must find their own donors.
Divine intervention
Rodriguez believes God intervened to provide a kidney. She hardly knew Gonzales, but his story tugged at her heart.
"I thought, I can't just walk away. I see this man every day," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez had nine vials of blood drawn in June. A nurse confirmed she was a match.
"I knew God was in control in that moment. I said, 'Well now, God, you open the rest of the doors for me,'" Rodriguez said. There were tests all summer to ensure she was healthy enough to donate a kidney.
Telling Gonzales she was a match was emotional.
"She said, 'I want to help.' I said, 'But you don't know me.' All the drivers started crying," Gonzales said.
Family support
Rodriguez's husband supports her decision, but her son and daughter, ages 22 and 17, were unsure at first.
"They said, 'Ma, what if we get sick?' I said, 'The same way God provided for him, he will provide for you,'" Rodriguez said. The families met and shared a meal in New York's Chinatown. After that, they supported the donation.
"They said, 'Mom, it is so cool what you are doing. You have to help this man.' They had to see his face," said Rodriguez. "I just want him to have his life back."
Gonzales is worried about how Rodriguez's body will take the surgery. He says the experience has been a big emotional and spiritual ride. He has seen other patients wait four years and still have no donor.
"I can only pray for these guys. God gave me Saint Bernadette. God must have other plans for me," said Rodriguez.
It was the question she asked herself after learning that Gonzales' two adult sons were not a donor match.
"I thought, 'Oh, my God, Jesus would heal him.' So I decided to follow him, and that is what he (Jesus) did," said Rodriguez, 41, a mother of two.
It wasn't the first time a co-worker came to Gonzales' aid. East Stroudsburg North bus drivers have paid insurance bills and held benefits to help pay his medical costs.
"I didn't realize there is love out there — that there are people who really care," said Gonzales, 46.
Energy-sapping routine
A routine check-up in February revealed Gonzales' kidneys were operating at 7 percent efficiency.
He went to a clinic for hemodialysis for six months — a process that left him too weak to work.
More recently, he has been able to self-administer peritoneal dialysis at home.
Gonzales wakes at 2 a.m. to pour the day's first dialysis fluid into an implanted tube. Stomach cramps and acid reflux are expected each time he loads the liquid. Gonzales must be still while waiting two hours for the fluid to clean his system.
At 4 a.m., he flushes the fluid out of his body. The process is repeated six times a day, or 12 hours daily. Though the process depletes his energy, he recovers quicker than with the treatments at the clinic and is able to work.
Sickness doesn't make the bills go away, however. Gonzales has been working, driving a school bus, while waiting for a transplant match.
"If I don't work, I lose my (health insurance) benefits," Gonzales said. Kidney patients generally must find their own donors.
Divine intervention
Rodriguez believes God intervened to provide a kidney. She hardly knew Gonzales, but his story tugged at her heart.
"I thought, I can't just walk away. I see this man every day," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez had nine vials of blood drawn in June. A nurse confirmed she was a match.
"I knew God was in control in that moment. I said, 'Well now, God, you open the rest of the doors for me,'" Rodriguez said. There were tests all summer to ensure she was healthy enough to donate a kidney.
Telling Gonzales she was a match was emotional.
"She said, 'I want to help.' I said, 'But you don't know me.' All the drivers started crying," Gonzales said.
Family support
Rodriguez's husband supports her decision, but her son and daughter, ages 22 and 17, were unsure at first.
"They said, 'Ma, what if we get sick?' I said, 'The same way God provided for him, he will provide for you,'" Rodriguez said. The families met and shared a meal in New York's Chinatown. After that, they supported the donation.
"They said, 'Mom, it is so cool what you are doing. You have to help this man.' They had to see his face," said Rodriguez. "I just want him to have his life back."
Gonzales is worried about how Rodriguez's body will take the surgery. He says the experience has been a big emotional and spiritual ride. He has seen other patients wait four years and still have no donor.
"I can only pray for these guys. God gave me Saint Bernadette. God must have other plans for me," said Rodriguez.
No comments:
Post a Comment