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Mary Ann Reilly, left, donated her kidney to Sherri Reinert-Gehman. The transplant was done March 8 at The Nebraska Medical Center. |
“I have a part of Mary Ann inside me,” said Reinert-Gehman, a behavior interventionist at Wegner School. “We will be soul sisters for life.”
Reinert-Gehman was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease at the age of 12. As a child, she watched several of her family members suffer and die from the genetic disease, including her sister. The disease caused Reinert-Gehman’s kidneys to grow to the size of footballs and required her to receive dialysis for one year before the transplant.
“I always knew my time would be coming,” she said.
Thanks to Reilly, a former Girls and Boys Town employee, she has a second chance.
Reinert-Gehman and Reilly both started as family-teachers at Girls and Boys Town and later worked as behavior interventionists at Wegner School, where Reinert-Gehman has spent the past 19 years. She has worked at Girls and Boys Town for 28 years, and plans to continue. “Boys Town is a fiber that runs inside of me,” she said. “I mourn being away.”
Reilly found out about Reinert-Gehman’s kidney disease when they first met, and knew at some point she would need a transplant. “I always wondered what it would be like to donate a kidney,” Reilly said. After learning about Reinert-Gehman’s dialysis, Reilly was prompted to see if she was a donor match. “When I heard Sherri needed a kidney donor, I felt scared for her,” Reilly said. “I was fearful she was going to die.”
Since many in Reinert-Gehman’s family are afflicted with the disease or already have donated a kidney, finding a family donor was not possible. So Father Val Peter helped get the word out about Reinert-Gehman’s need. “The outpouring of support from the Girls and Boys Town family is overwhelming,” Reinert-Gehman said. “Girls and Boys Town saved my life.”
It wasn’t long until Reilly found out she was a match for her friend. “Every step in testing was an affirmation of my decision to be Sherri’s donor,” she said. “Each test was one step closer to Sherri being healthy again.”
Reinert-Gehman was reluctant at first to accept Reilly as her donor. “Sherri was concerned about how my family would be affected if something were to happen to me in the process,” Reilly said. “I feared that I could die, but I had confidence that everything was in God’s hands.”
“We are fortunate that we are able to perform kidney transplants with living donors and that there are people, like Mary Ann Reilly, who are willing to be a donor for another person, especially someone they are not related to,” said Lucile Wrenshall, M.D., one of the surgeons who performed the transplant at The Nebraska Medical Center and an associate professor at UNMC.
The kidney transplant went well and both women are recovering nicely. Ninety days after surgery is a critical time. Reinert-Gehman has a 60 percent chance of rejecting her new kidney, but doctors say her body is adjusting and responding well. “It likes Mary Ann’s kidney,” Reinert-Gehman said.
While her immune system regains full strength, Reinert-Gehman is quarantined to her house to prevent any infection. She leaves to attend doctor appointments three days a week and is happy to report that she plans to return to work in June. Reilly, a customer advocate for AAA, is near full-strength and returned to work last week.
Reilly had her family’s support through the whole process. She said having her husband Jay, and their four children, Brendan, 18, Isaac, 16, Caitlyn, 13, and Keenan, 12, behind her meant a great deal. Reinert-Gehman’s family also has been a huge support in the process. Her husband of 28 years, Jim, and their three children, Taylor, 25, Bri, 21, and Olivia, 13, continue to help her through it all.
For Reilly, the most rewarding part of this experience came two-fold; the kidney is working for Reinert-Gehman, and their relationship has become stronger. “I always wanted a sister, and now Sherri and I are closer than sisters,” Reilly said.
Her friend feels the same way. “She shared herself with me,” Reinert-Gehman said. “That goes deeper than a sisterhood.”
Lisa Spellman contributed to this story.