A strong connection leads to easy kidney donation

By Bryan McKenzie

Published: June 13, 2008

Ann Hanna is missing a kidney, Tommy Eavers has it and everyone is fine with that, thank you very much.

On June 5, Ms. Hanna let the organ transplant team at the University of Virginia Medical Center remove one of her organs and insert it into friend Michael “Tommy” Eavers, who had been on dialysis since November 2006.

“I’m sore,” Ms. Hanna said from her New Hope home. “I don’t have much of an appetite and I’m tired, but other than that, I’m fine.”

Although the surgery was not without pain, for Ms. Hanna it definitely had its benefits.

Color’s back

“I saw Tommy the first thing [June 6] and noticed right away that he had color,” she exclaimed. “That’s the first time I’ve seen him for years when he had decent color. That was so good to see.”

After being nearly pain-free for three or four days, the soreness and body-shock of major surgery has crept into both participants. That’s OK; it’s a good feeling.

“I’m doing great,” Mr. Eavers enthused. “When they put the kidney in, it started working right away and it’s working great now. All of the critical blood levels are where they need to be and I can really feel the difference.”

So far, the story is one of success and generosity. Ms. Hanna, 55, and Mr. Eavers, 50, of Verona, have been friends for 14 years, since Ms. Hanna moved to the Shenandoah Valley from Colorado.

Mr. Eavers owns a laundry in Verona. Energetic, fit and otherwise healthy, he’s been diabetic since age 21. They met at the laundry and a friendship began.

The idea of donating a kidney to her friend grew on her as Ms. Hanna watched Mr. Eavers grow ill and require dialysis.

“There are 70,000 people in the country looking for a kidney and once you go on dialysis, it gets harder for a transplant to work,” Ms. Hanna said. “I wanted to give him a good chance.”

A big decision

Ms. Hanna talked it over with her husband and then went through an extensive series of tests, from physical to psychological. At every turn the two matched.

“We’ve been real good friends for a long time and my doctor said that when people have a good spiritual connection, the kidney transplant just seems to work better,” Mr. Eavers said. “It sure seems to have worked with us.”

With everything working and everyone healing, it’s a just a matter of time before life is back to normal.

“I won’t be able to drive for a month and I have to limit my activity, but one month of my life doesn’t seem like much to ask compared to what the kidney is doing for Tommy,” Ms. Hanna said.

“I appreciate what she’s done and what she’s gone through. It’s great to feel good again,” Mr. Eavers said. “I can’t get the grin off my face.”

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