Notre Dame Sisters of Omaha, Nebraska

NDA Alumnae:

Notre Dame Academy was not just an institution of learning for decades of young, Christian women but an introduction to lifetime memories and friendships. There was a bond forged in high school that will always be an enormously valued part of life and those bonds are sometimes reinforced with the powers of faith and love.
When I graduated in 1973 from Notre Dame, I'd made friends with numerous girls, little knowing that these friendship would continue for more than three decades. Two of those friends were a transfer student named Micki Walsh and a “lifer” named Patty Boyle. They remained close after high school and even got an apartment together when they were in their early twenties. It was around this time that Micki was not feeling well and Patty, having recently graduated from nursing school, was determined to get her to a doctor and even recommended one. This would be the first time Micki was to hear that she was in kidney failure…and would probably need a transplant by the time she was thirty. Patty assured her that if the day came she would gladly donate. A rash promise from a twenty year old.
Patti (left) and Micki Over the course of years, Micki battled her disease with strength and patience but more importantly, with a true faith in God. She will tell you that her daily prayer was to stay off dialysis until her daughter, Jamie, graduated from high school in 2003. When in the summer of 2004 she was told she would need to start dialysis very soon, she thanked God for giving her an extra year after Jamie’s graduation.
Micki talked with her doctor and said she wanted to avoid dialysis if possible and wondered about a transplant. He said that was entirely possible if they could find a donor. An email went out that day to her family and friends explaining her prognosis and giving the website where information was available and, if a person was interested, they could sign up to begin testing to see if they were a compatible candidate. The first to step up was her youngest sibling, Mary, who is been a member of the United States Army and has a husband and two children. She did most of her testing where she resides, in Washington D.C. and when everything looked like a go, she came to Omaha, a surgery date of October 13 having been arranged, and prepared to give a life-changing, if not life-saving, gift to her sister. Her final test here in Omaha showed a problem in one of her arteries leading to the kidney. Nothing that would affect her she was told, but it was enough to knock her out of the running as a donor and she went home saddened and leaving behind a sister who must have been devastated, but kept up her cheery persona, as always.
Micki was so weakened by her kidney failure that she contacted her doctor and said she needed to start dialysis. It’s something she would never wish on anyone. Even though she remained cheerful to the public, her friends and family, it wasn’t until after the surgery that she admitted how painful and depressing it was to have to receive dialysis three days a week for three hours at a time and then go home feeling drained and sore.
At the same time this was happening, her best friend Patty had already begun the process of applying to donate her kidney. When Micki’s sister stepped forward she breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she had every intention of following through if necessary, it was still a huge decision that she and her family had to make. When Micki started dialysis, Patty finished her application and was contacted to begin testing, then a short time later, given the “go ahead”.
Through all of the news: the testing, Mary’s rejection, Micki’s dialysis, and Patty going through tests to see if she could donate, a barrage of emails flew back and forth between so many of us, keeping each other informed, praying, encouraging, and hoping. I have never experienced anything like this in my life. If ever there was a group of people united as one and on the same mission, this was it. Micki was encouraged by our prayers and words of comfort and I think Patty realized how grateful we ALL were for this huge sacrifice she was making. Besides the risks and discomforts, she was going to miss weeks of work and pay and her husband, Dave, would be the main caregiver for some time. Patty said he supported her from the beginning and she could not have offered what she did without him.
An interesting story she tells is that as they were waiting in the pre-op room for her to be taken in, she noticed that her husband, who normal worries more than she thinks he should, was quite calm. After surgery she asked how he was able to remain so relaxed and her told her that as they wheeled her away to surgery he noted what a wonderful staff of doctors and nurses there were caring for her and the last one to leave the room, a woman he had never seen in there before, gave him a little wave of confidence that everything would be okay. Patty wondered who it might be. “Your angel”, is all Dave replied and left the room.
Micki immediately felt better after surgery as most recipients do, but Patty would take a little longer to rebound and was off work for six weeks. Micki’s husband, Greg, who had also been a wonderful support along with her daughter and son Ryan, fell and broke his collar bone the day before Micki was due to come home from the hospital. She said it all worked out in the end… she would buckle his belt and he would tie her shoes. When we received the email from Micki saying that she could never repay Patty for her sacrifice and how well she was feeling, well, Micki’s and Patty’s N.D. friends and both of their families couldn’t have been more excited about the success of the surgery. And when Micki said that since receiving Patty’s kidney she thought her I.Q. had raised but she no longer had any rhythm…we knew everyone was going to be fine.
A final note... In June of this year, Micki’s sister Mary, called Micki and said, “thank you for saving my life.” When questioned, it turned out that Mary’s blood pressure had started rising at dangerous rate and the doctors could not figure out why. Because of the tests she had taken in order to donate, they checked the artery to her kidney first and found the problem. Had she not had the donor tests, the doctors would have done a multitude of tests looking for the problem and there would have been a very good chance that Mary would have suffered a stroke or complete kidney failure before they could have remedied the problem. Upon hearing this, Micki had reason to the question of why God would put her through these many years of suffering. They all seemed worth it now. She may have saved her sister's life because of it.

PS Micki also complains to Patty that she gave her a stomach pooch she never had before. Patty’s pretty sure it’s because she turned fifty this year.

by Denise Smith '73