Published Sunday, Feb. 14, 1999 For Albert and Marjorie Brannan of Sharon, the gift of love -- and life -- was a kidney.
On Jan. 5, after enduring total kidney failure and a debilitating stroke, and after two long years of being on a transplant waiting list, Albert Brannan finally got the kidney transplant that would give him new life. His wife was the donor, a turn of events that defied the long odds of matching blood types and antigens.
Brannan, 52, was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 6 years old. Kidney problems, a common result of the ongoing disease, surfaced about 10 years ago. In 1996, Brannan's kidneys failed, and he was placed on a transplant waiting list. He had kidney dialysis several times a week, but his health "just got worse," Mrs. Brannan said.
"We didn't think he'd make it," she said. And in April 1997, when Brannan suffered a stroke that left his left side paralyzed, the situation grew even more desperate.
"He had the ambition to get better, but not the strength," his wife said. "He just kept going downhill. Doctors told us that, unless he had a transplant, there was nothing they could do."
Brannan was on a waiting list for a pancreas and a kidney. The wait was a lengthy and frustrating ordeal, made worse by his being turned away from one transplant center before the Brannans found the Cleveland University Hospital. It wasn't going to be easy to find the right organs, they were told, since Brannan's blood type -- B positive -- was rare enough to make compatible donors scarce. As time ticked away, the Brannans started looking at just the kidney transplant, for which a live donor could be used -- if one could be found.
"His brothers and sisters weren't compatible," Mrs. Brannan explained. "But I have O positive blood, which is the universal donor blood, so I suggested that I be tested as a possible donor."
Brannan resisted that idea; he said he didn't want his wife to go through the pain of having a kidney removed. But as his condition worsened and no other options appeared, he reluctantly agreed to let her be tested.
Even though Mrs. Brannan's blood type was compatible, there were other hurdles to cross, like matching one or two of the antigens -- substances that produce antibodies -- in Brannan's blood. It was a surprise to everyone when the tests showed she had three of the antigens found in her husband's blood -- a number considered good by transplant standards.
The explanation for the close match seemed to be that both Brannans had similar ethnic backgrounds -- German and English -- which is a significant factor with antigens. Whatever the reason, the result was clear: The transplant could proceed.
The last word they said to each other before the surgery, Mrs. Brannan said, was "Isalys." That's shorthand, she said, for a phrase they've used often in their 34 years of marriage: "I shall always love you, sweetheart."
Now, a month later, even when it still hurts to move a little, both Brannans are amazed at the success of the operation, and the change in Brannan's life. He takes 40 pills a day to help prevent his body from rejecting the new kidney, and he'll spend the rest of his life on immuno-suppressant drugs.
He's still hoping for a pancreas transplant.
And life now is still better than any day in those years waiting for a new kidney, Brannan said.
"I have a new life," he said. "And I'll fight to keep it."
He talks about the depression, and the anger, and the feelings of hopelessness that shadowed his days. "Doctors kept saying I'd feel so good after I got a transplant, but I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to feel good. But I felt good even when I woke up," Brannan said. "I was bursting with joy. And now I feel great, like I could be in the Olympics."
"He was a gray color before the surgery," Mrs. Brannan said. The change in his color was the first thing she noticed when they were able to see each other after the surgery. "I looked at his face, and I saw the glow," she said, "and I saw that smile. ..."
The memory made her eyes fill with tears, and she explained why: "I hadn't seen that smile in 2½ years. My prayers were answered."
Now they're waiting for benchmarks in Brannan's progression to health. After the first year, they're hoping Brannan will be well enough for them to take a cruise.
In the meantime, Mrs. Brannan is still treasuring the memory of the big bouquet of flowers her husband sent her right after surgery. The note said it all: "Thank you for the gift of life."
