Billy Ruyle, Transplant Recipient

When Billy Ruyle could not sign his name at work or even grasp the pen, he realized he had a problem that was bigger than just a cold.

Billy grew up in a small town, just south of Springfield. After high school, Billy married “the most amazing wife” and together they had three boys and one girl and now have lots of grandkids. He worked as a full-time truck driver until just a few years ago when he took a part-time job hauling beans in Waverly.

“There is a lot of dust when you haul beans. At first, I thought I caught some sort of cold from the dust, and I just kept getting weaker and weaker,” he said. “I should have stopped working right then, but I didn’t because there was a job to finish.”

“When I got home later that day, I told my wife what had happened and we knew then something was seriously wrong.” Read the rest of this entry »

"Team Greg Oest" Team Captain is Joleen Oest (wife of Greg), sitting on rock with kids on lap. They raised over $600!

Bolstered by a record-setting 501 people registered, the annual 5K run/walk to benefit the Alan G. Birtch, MD, Center for Transplant Services at Memorial raised nearly $9,000 last Saturday.

The eighth annual event was held in Springfield’s Washington Park on Sept. 8. Bill Coon, a double heart transplant and kidney transplant recipient, shared his inspiring story before the event began. A local band, The Fireside Relics, kept the mood festive.

“Once again, the community has so generously shown their support for our transplant program,” said Sara Danner, Memorial’s transplant financial coordinator and chair of this year’s 5K. “This year was another successful event with beautiful weather and a very large crowd.” Read the rest of this entry »

Team Share Your Spare, led by Lindsay Lopian, living kidney donor to her father Allan Lauher.

When Lindsay Lopian and her sister learned that their dad needed a kidney transplant, neither one of them had to think twice about being tested as possible donors.

Their father’s reaction was completely and understandably different. Like any dad who wants the best for his children, Allan Lauher didn’t want to burden either of his girls.

“As soon as Mom told us, we were both ready to be tested,” Lindsay recalls. “But he said there was no way his daughters were going to donate a kidney.”

In his mid-50s, Allan has struggled with high blood pressure and only had one remaining kidney after the other had been removed when he was a child.

In the summer of 2011, his doctor advised him that high blood pressure had taken its toll on his kidney. His only options were dialysis or a transplant. Read the rest of this entry »

Christina Geisler and her mother, Kathy Geisler

At just 20 years old, Christina Geisler needed a kidney transplant.

It started in late 2010 when the Gillespie native noticed her urine was discolored. In January 2011, she was rushed to the hospital and immediately went on dialysis. She was later diagnosed with Goodpasture’s syndrome, a rare disease where your antibodies attack the kidneys and lungs.

“I lost 20 pounds in no time at all,” she said. “At one point, I just ate ice. It was awful.”

Her mother, 59-year-old Kathy Geisler, decided to donate one of her kidneys once the doctors realized Christina’s own kidney function would not return.

“It was a no-brainer,” Kathy said. “I felt blessed I could do this for her.” Read the rest of this entry »

For nearly 40 years, the kidney and pancreas transplant program at Memorial Medical Center has made a difference in the lives of hundreds of patients and their loved ones, and on Dec. 26, the team celebrated a significant milestone when it performed its 800^th organ transplant.

The organ — a kidney — was offered on Christmas Day, and it was a perfect match to the recipient, who had been on the waiting list for more than five years. Read the rest of this entry »

Gerald Bacon of Chatham received a lifesaving kidney transplant in November 2010. Wegener’s disease had led to kidney failure, and after more than a year of dialysis, Bacon learned he qualified for a kidney transplant. His partner of nearly 15 years, Connie Schneider, was his donor.

He immediately felt better following his operation.

“When I was on dialysis, I was eating right and felt pretty good,” he said. “Then I had the transplant. The day after the operation, you’d think a person would feel pretty bad, but I felt better. I didn’t realize that even though I was on dialysis, how bad I really did feel.” Read the rest of this entry »

The numbers are staggering – more than 111,000 people waiting for an organ transplant nationwide, 5,000 of them in Illinois. Every 10 minutes, a new person is added to the national waiting list and an average of 18 people die each day while waiting for a transplant.

Read the rest of this entry »