When 64-year-old Susan Fredriksen read a newspaper article about how desperate families benefitted so greatly from kidney donations, she knew without much further thought, that she was going to register to donate her kidney.
Her husband has passed away in 2014 from ALS, and Fredricksen admits, she would have given the world to have had more time with her husband when he was healthy.
“The thought of prolonging another family’s time with their loved one really stuck with me,” she wrote. “I thought, ‘I can do that,’ and I called a transplant center the next day.”
Although Fredricksen is a doctor herself, it took her some time to figure out the details and nuances of the kidney donation process. Finally, she settled that she would do all her tests and arrangements with the Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana – even though she lived in Unaka, North Carolina.
Over the next nine months, Fredricksen traveled back and forth between the two states to prepare, until finally, doctors gave her the all clear.
Her donation surgery was scheduled for August 23, and Fredricksen would not know who would be receiving her kidney.
Many of Fredriksen’s friends were concerned for her health and wellbeing, but supported her decision and even went with her to the hospital on the day of the procedure.
It ended up being a good thing that they were there, because after the three-hour procedure, Fredriksen was doing a little worse for wear. The surgery had been harder on her body than she’d anticipated, and she needed all the support she could receive from those around her.
But just a week after the operation, Fredriksen was given an incredible opportunity to meet the woman who had received her kidney.
Rhonda had been living with a kidney infection for 30 years. In 2015, her health took a sudden downturn and she would need a new kidney to be able to enjoy the rest of her life with her husband.
The moment Fredriksen met Rhonda, both women burst into tears. “The realization of what happened between us suddenly felt so real,” Fredriksen recalled.
Rhonda thanked Fredriksen profusely, and many of Fredriksen’s friends also commented on how brave and heroic she was for donating one of her organs.
For Fredriksen, however, she’s not a hero. She just did something that was “damn awesome.”
