Kidney donor braves blizzard for Boston transplant surgery
By Jessica Brown
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BOSTON (WCVB) — A kidney donor drove nearly 18 hours through the recent blizzard to reach Boston in time for a life-saving transplant at Tufts Medical Center.
Colleen Richards, a nurse coordinator for the transplant team at Tufts Medical Center, was uncertain if the kidney transplant would happen. For months, she had February 25 circled on her calendar, marking the day Kelley Nixon was scheduled to donate a kidney to Michelle Wood.
“I think they get the date in their heads. It’s almost like a birthday. It’s a new birthday with their new kidney,” Richards said.
Wood had been living with Polycystic Kidney Disease, a genetic condition that is deadly without a transplant. She reached out to friends and family for help and discovered that Nixon was a match.
“She was very motivated, very excited, wanted to do something to help her friend’s spouse out, and she did,” Richards said.
Observed blizzardPowerful storm brings blizzard conditions to Massachusetts for first time since 2022 Nixon and her husband booked a flight from Anchorage to Boston but found themselves stuck in Chicago due to the blizzard.
“They opted to rent a four-wheel drive car on Monday morning and started the trek to Boston,” Richards said.
“It made things interesting, exciting, but routine and boring, which we like. We don’t want excitements in surgery,” said Dr. Manish Varma, a transplant surgeon at Tufts Medical Center.
Varma said there haven’t been any “excitements” during recovery either. Both Wood and Nixon are resting comfortably and looking forward to spring.
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