Ohio Elementary School Teacher Gives Life Lesson With Kidney Donation
![Kidney cross section.](https://d.medicaldaily.com/en/full/227236/kidney-cross-section.png?w=449&f=cb71737a623044b173ee3b9d10f06a30)
Every 10 minutes, a new person is added to the organ transplant waiting list. The wait for a kidney transplant could be between a few months to several years in order to find a good match between recipient and donor. Currently in the United States, there are more than 117,000 people who are waiting for organ transplants, with more than 95,000 who await kidneys, Donate Life New York reports.
For 8-year-old student Nicole Miller from Mansfield, Ohio, the wait for a kidney came to an end at a parent-teacher conference in Mansfield Christian School. "The sunshine girl," as referred to by her teacher and donor Wendy Killan, was the perfect match. "Yes, I'm going to be going through a major surgery, but you know, it's only going to be a few weeks of my life, but to this little girl, it is her whole life," said Killan.
A person dies every 48 hours while waiting for a transplant, Lifeline of Ohio says. The total number of deaths in the state is 2,000 in the span of a decade. Prior to Killan, the sunshine girl's parents, Brian and Letitia, along with 18 Mansfield residents who quickly came to the little girl's aid proved to be no match.
The elementary school teacher has dealt with a similar situation before. Killan's desire to help Miller was drawn from her 9-year-old son William who received a blood platelet transfusion when he was an infant. "When my youngest was born, he became very critically ill and we weren't sure if he was going to make it," said Killan.
The heroic teacher braved herself to face surgery for Miller. The kidney transplant was successful and both Miller and Killan will recover over six weeks.
"The next six months will be the most difficult," said Brian Miller, Nicole's father. "After six months, things can settle in, and hopefully we can really see what her life is going to be like." Miller suffers from a genetic disorder that causes ear, hearing loss, and kidney malformation. She would often experience fatigue and miss school on several occasions.
The symptoms of chronic kidney disease and polycystic kidney disease are so subtle that they often go unnoticed and become severe overtime. The National Kidney Center (NKC) gives 10 key kidney disease symptoms that are prime indicators of the disease:
1. Changes in Urination
2. Swelling
3. Skin Rash/Itching
4. Leg, Back or Side Pain
5. Metallic Taste in Mouth/Ammonia Breath
6. Nausea and Vomiting
7. Feeling Cold
8. Shortness of Breath
9. Dizziness and Trouble Concentrating
10. Fatigue
Miller's kidney transplant will help her live like healthy kids her age.