Fundraiser marks anniversary of miracle transplant

Dunwoody Crier | Fran Memberg


Photo: Springer, Otto, and family
Becky Springer and her daughters (left) and Amy Otto and her children on Mother’s Day 2012. A fundraiser for Springer was held at D’Vine Wine Bar.

Some 50 friends and family helped Dunwoody residents Becky Springer and Amy Otto celebrate the first anniversary of a miracle – and raise money for a worthy cause — last month at D’Vine Wine Bar and Shop in Shops of Dunwoody.

In February 2008, Springer contracted a bacterial infection that caused organ shutdown and septicemia, a life-threatening condition caused by bacteria in the blood. Efforts to save her life included amputation of her hands and feet. Following three months of hospital treatment and six weeks at a rehabilitation center, Springer returned home to her husband and three young daughters.

Friends, family and neighbors have rallied around Springer. With the help of a nanny, she has resumed a full life, although kidney failure required dialysis treatment three days a week. At the beginning of 2009, she was placed on the kidney transplant list through the Piedmont Hospital Transplant Institute. No suitable match was found among friends, relatives or anonymous potential donors – until Otto joined Springer’s neighborhood book club.

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