4 years in the past, Cristina Fontana donated her kidney to a stranger. Now, she is coaching to hike the summit of Africa’s highest peak – Mount Kilimanjaro. Why? She desires to deliver consideration to residing kidney donation.
By IU Well being Senior Journalist, T.J. Banes, tfender1@iuhealth.org
It’s bodily demanding. It’s emotionally demanding. Probably the most seasoned hikers can expertise altitude illness and extreme fatigue. It requires tent tenting, sufficient hydration and diet, and adapting to excessive temperature modifications.
On March 12, Cristina Fontana will depart for a 17-hour flight to Tanzania the place she is going to undertake one of many best challenges of her lifetime. She is going to hike to Uhuru Level – the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest freestanding mountain, 19,341 toes above sea stage.
When she reaches the highest, Fontana intends to carry a banner with a inexperienced ribbon, symbolic of kidney illness and organ donation. March is Nationwide Kidney Month and March 10, is World Kidney Day. The inexperienced ribbon represents one thing near Fontana’s coronary heart – the respect of donating a kidney to somebody in want. It additionally represents the transplant sufferers in her care as a nurse at IU Well being College Hospital.
Fontana’s journey towards advocacy started at a younger age. She was born in Caracas, Venezuela. On the age of 9, her father was recognized with renal cell carcinoma. He died when Fontana was 14. She needed so badly to save lots of his life by donating a kidney however age was an impediment.
“His sickness and dying eternally modified my life,” stated Fontana, a resident of Zionsville, Ind. Fifteen years in the past, her mom handed of problems from lung illness. She was on dialysis for 4 months and was not a candidate for transplant.
“The dying of each my mother and father created a heightened sense of want for me to assist others,” stated Fontana.
It’s estimated greater than 100,000 individuals are awaiting life saving organ transplants; 85 p.c of these ready, are in want of a kidney. At the back of her thoughts, Fontana knew there can be a time when she would turn out to be a residing donor.
That day got here on Jan. 25, 2018. She didn’t know her recipient; she simply knew somebody wanted her kidney. She later realized that “somebody” was a 21-year-old Frankfort resident who had been on dialysis for 3 years awaiting transplant. Coincidentally, Spanish was his first language. The 2 turned higher acquainted following transplant.
“The concept of giving life to somebody ignited my soul,” stated Fontana. Previous to her kidney donation she labored as a nurse at Riley Hospital for Youngsters at IU Well being and likewise as a radiation therapist at IU Well being Methodist Hospital. Six months after the organ transplant, Fontana turned a transplant residing donor coordinator at IU Well being College Hospital.
Each personally, and professionally she has seen the distinction organ transplantation makes within the lifetime of each the donor and the recipient. When her recipient informed her she had modified his life, she responded: “Changing into a donor modified my life.”
Her donor’s physique went into rejection roughly two years after his transplant. The fact of these challenges – confronted each day by these with kidney illness –continues to propel Fontana to advocate and educate others about residing kidney donation.
“What I can say for positive, is that I might donate my kidney once more, if I had extra to provide. I had very excessive hopes and expectations relating to my medical care, surgical procedure, restoration, and post-surgical outcomes. I don’t share my story with all my sufferers, however I do with some. I hear how comforting it’s to them to know that I’ve been the place they’re, it creates a particular bond. I acquired the very best care attainable at IU Well being and need the identical for my sufferers,” stated Fontana, 53.
“I knew going into surgical procedure that I used to be actually going to be okay, and I might dwell a wholesome, glad life with one kidney,” stated Fontana. She was hospitalized in a single day and inside 12 weeks after surgical procedure she was again to her common routine. That features yoga and mountain climbing. Time beyond regulation, she turned lively with the Kidney Donor Athletes (KDA), a gaggle dedicated to inspiring, supporting, and educating folks in regards to the expertise of kidney donation.
Since transplant, Fontana, has accomplished plenty of difficult hikes together with, Machu-Picchu, greater than 7,000 toes above sea stage within the Andes Mountains,
Rainbow Mountain, 17,060 toes above sea stage, close to Cusco, Peru, and Hawaii’s Waimea Canyon – 10 miles lengthy and three,000 toes deep. She has additionally hiked U.S. Nationwide Parks – Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Zion.
Fontana was initially chosen to hitch a choose group of KDA athletes for the Kilimanjaro climb. When her household realized of the problem they needed to hitch her. “They have been with me by my kidney donation, so it appeared proper that they need to be with me by this,” stated Fontana. Her husband, Daniel Gomes, their son, Alex Gomes, and their daughter, Gabriela Gomes-Lueders, and her husband, Blake Lueders, will be part of her on the eight-day hike. The youngest of the group, Fontana’s son, is a school freshman. There are age restrictions for the hike. Fontana’s different son, Tomas Gomes, and his girlfriend Brianna Perl, will be part of them on the backside of the mountain for the put up hike celebration.
The group will carry 33-pound duffle baggage with their provides together with nourishment, sleeping, and tent gear for eight days of tenting. They may use lighter packs for day mountain climbing. Fontana is taking her yoga mat for stretching alongside the trek. They may cross 5 ecosystems – starting with a sizzling and dry local weather and ending with freezing temperatures on the summit.
“We’ve been coaching and we’ve realized that respiration and pacing ourselves is the important thing to negotiating the climates and altitudes,” stated Fontana. “I consider my secret weapon is sizzling yoga and taking good care of my physique. I hope not directly to encourage somebody and to inform the world to not be scared to do one thing daring and loopy that your coronary heart actually wishes. It would deliver blessings to your life and the lives of others.
“I’ve been honored to work alongside the workers at IU Well being that helped me by my donation course of. I’m privileged to assist educate, look after, and encourage different donors to pursue residing kidney donation each single day by my job. My upcoming summit to Kilimanjaro is a unique approach to encourage donors and present that simply because we’re donors and solely have one kidney, it doesn’t imply we can’t dwell full wholesome lives and obtain nice issues,” she stated.
And about that banner with the inexperienced ribbon – It additionally has this message: “I’ve one kidney and made it to the highest of Kilimanjaro.”
0 Comments