The Granby elementary teacher has a genetic defect that causes cysts to grow in the kidneys. She had been eligible for a donor for about a year when Greg O'Neil, a Granby High School teacher, said he would donate a kidney. She was speechless.
"It doesn't happen very much," says Kelco, 53, of the early March afternoon when O'Neil and another Granby teacher--also a match--told her. "I thought they wanted to see me because of Association business. I never dreamed they were going to give me such wonderful news."
Colleagues begin search for kidney donor
The former Granby Education Association president has been a teacher of gifted and talented students at Kelly Lane and Wells Road schools for 23 years. When two colleagues, Joanne McLeod and Elaine Chagnon, learned about Kelco's condition last fall, they quietly began putting out the word among colleagues that she needed a kidney transplant.
At a GEA meeting in February, O'Neil heard about Kelco and decided on the spot to get tested. "As soon as I got home, I called the Kidney Transplant Center at Hartford Hospital," recalls O'Neil.
O'Neil and colleague Greg DeCubellis underwent a battery of tests to determine who was a more suitable candidate. When it was decided that O'Neil was a better match, DeCubellis became the backup donor.
Kelco was unaware of what was happening on her behalf. "Greg and I wanted to be absolutely sure that it was a go before telling Barb," says O'Neil. "We wanted to surprise her on her birthday, but we had to wait a day before delivering the good news."
Kidney transplant information helps ease fears
Lori O'Neil, a school social worker in Suffield, says her husband's decision wasn't a shock. "About four years ago, Greg read an article about kidney transplants. It planted the seed of wanting to help improve the quality of someone's life by donating a kidney." She says she had some concerns about the surgery, but the bottom line was, "I wasn't afraid he was going to die. Greg had found out about the relatively few risks ahead of time, so it made it easier for me to realize what was going to happen. When I learned the facts about the surgery, such as the existing kidney picking up the load and that he could be back teaching in about six weeks, it eased my mind."
Kelco and the O'Neils say the important message "is that donating a kidney is not such a scary thing." They add that Catherine Drouin, the kidney transplant coordinator at Hartford Hospital, made planning the surgeries much less frightening for all of them. "Her help gave us more understanding about the process," says Kelco.
In addition to meeting with the kidney transplant staff, Greg and Lori O'Neil met with a psychiatrist and a social worker, and discussed the transplant with their four young children. "These discussions reassured me that Greg was doing this for the right reasons. He felt strongly about improving Barbara's quality of life with his donation--and our family supported him 100 percent." Surgery took place in mid-April after two postponements. While it was successful, O'Neil had a more complicated surgery than Kelco. "It took about four hours for the surgeons to take out my kidney," says O'Neil. "I also had a reaction to the pain medication and was sick for a couple days afterward."
Immediate improvement seen after kidney transplant
For Kelco, the surgery was less invasive and the improvement almost immediate.
"I had been on peritoneal dialysis every day for a year. It always made me feel better, but I couldn't believe the difference following the transplant. Within a day, I felt better than I had in months as the new kidney kicked in and took over." Kelco returned to the classroom in September and continues a daily regimen of more than 40 different medications. Her medications will be reduced in the coming months, however, she must remain on some immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of her life to prevent rejection of O'Neil's kidney.
Transplant creates a special bond of friendship
Following his six-week recovery period, O'Neil bounced back quickly and returned to school for two weeks in June. Then he and his family headed for a seven-week auto trip across the country that included hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon.
"I feel fantastic," says the 45-year-old business teacher. "I have no regrets about doing this. How could I not do it? For me, it was a no-brainer. It didn't hurt my quality of life or health, but it sure made a vast improvement in Barb's life." Kelco says that while she and O'Neil had a casual collegial relationship and worked together on some GEA committees, she and the O'Neil family are now very close friends who frequently spend much time together.
Lori O'Neil says it was a bit awkward meeting Kelco at first, but they now enjoy a special friendship because of Greg O'Neil's donation. "I've gotten to know Barbara quite well and our friendship has grown over the last several months. I'm very proud of what my husband did to help her," says O'Neil.
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