NEWS

A wife’s lifelong gift

By EMMA BARTLETT
Posted 1/10/23

It’s a Friday afternoon in Warwick and Eric Halpern and his wife, Beverly, are seated side by side on their living room couch. It’s been four weeks since the two underwent surgery where …

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NEWS

A wife’s lifelong gift

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It’s a Friday afternoon in Warwick and Eric Halpern and his wife, Beverly, are seated side by side on their living room couch. It’s been four weeks since the two underwent surgery where Beverly gave Eric one of her kidneys after being informed she was a match.

Eric, 54, was born with two kidneys, however, one never developed over the years. Doctors discovered this during an MRI after he slipped on ice and injured his back during his 30s. Over the last 10 years, his working kidney started declining slightly and when he followed up with a nephrologist (kidney specialist) several years ago he ended up needing a renal ultrasound at Rhode Island Hospital which showed he had renal cancer.

The couple went to Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where the two were told that the kidney had to be removed.

“The good thing was it [the cancer] was contained to the kidney. But the tumor was big,” said Eric, adding that the tumor had been there awhile and was almost as large as the kidney.

The day after the kidney was removed, Eric started dialysis and spent eight days in the hospital. For three years and one month he was on dialysis treatment.

Eric shared that after two years of being cancer free, he was able to be added to a waitlist to receive a kidney. Since Eric was in good shape and there were people in greater need of a kidney, he was lower on the list and his transplant team suggested he look for someone to donate a kidney. According to the National Kidney Foundation, the average person waits three to five years for a kidney transplant. Beverly added that doctors prefer a live kidney as opposed to one from a recently deceased person since the live kidneys tend to last longer.

“It’s just ironic because what was the likelihood that the kidney that I needed was literally right in my own house. I mean, it’s just mind-blowing to know that,” said Eric.

Eric and Beverly have been married for 12 years and together for 17. The two met online in 2006, moved into Eric’s childhood home with Beverly’s two children in 2008, and got married on Jan. 1, 2011. Beverly has spent the past six years working in the accounting department at QML – a precious metal refining company.

While the couple had individuals test to see if they were a kidney match, Beverly, 56, decided to get also get tested. Eric had several cousins who went through the process of seeing if they could be donors but ended up being ineligible. Meanwhile, Beverly easily started clearing the tests.

While Beverly was concerned for her health during the surgery, Eric said he was more concerned for her because his worst fear was receiving her kidney and later discovering that something bad happened to Beverly in surgery and she was either on life support or had passed away. Eric said he wasn’t excited for the transplant. While most people would be ecstatic, he remembered how painful it was when the kidney was removed. Luckily, everything went fine.

One month post-surgery, Eric is still in some discomfort but is feeling better each day; he says he is about 50 percent healed. For the first six weeks post-surgery, he will go twice a week for blood work, followed by once a week for the first year. Once he is stable, Eric will have to go for blood work once a month for the rest of his life to make sure the kidney is not being rejected.

The couple worked with a transplant team at Rhode Island Hospital and was told they could go as fast or slow as they wanted with the transplant process. Since it was almost springtime, Eric wanted to enjoy the spring and summer, he suggested the winter for the surgery.

Eric also reflected on the time spent on dialysis.

“It takes a lot of time out of your years,” Eric said.

Most people go for dialysis treatment for four hours at a time though that can be longer if there is a wait at the treatment center. After sitting in a chair, Eric would have two needles put in his arm which would filter/clean the blood. After dialysis, Eric explained that individuals couldn’t just get up and leave since their blood is flowing at a high rate. To stop the bleeding, he’d have to hold a pressure bandage for 10 minutes and, after that, he’d be taped up and free to go. Before leaving, he would be weighed to determine how much fluid was taken off him since he came into the facility and was initially weighed. Eric said he would spend three hours and fifteen minutes at the facility rather than the four hours.

“When you’re sitting there and it’s beautiful out, 45 minutes feels like 45 hours,” Eric said.

While he was tired after dialysis, Eric said he never felt any different from when he had his original kidney, didn’t have it, or got his new one. He said he’s never been one to slow down – adding that his job calls for him to work outside just about every day. Whether he’s plowing snow, cutting grass, weeding or maintaining the Brown University grounds, he’d usually work 40 hours plus a week.

Since their Dec. 12 surgery, the two have been recovering. Beverly’s mom stayed with the couple for a week and Beverly’s son stopped in to remove Christmas decorations and carry laundry up and down the stairs. Eric, who’s worked in the Grounds Division at Brown University for the past 17 years, said if he is feeling better, he can return to work in February.

The couple is now looking forward to scheduling future vacations.

“It’s going to make both our lives better,” said Beverly, reflecting on the impact giving up her kidney will have.

When Eric was without his kidney, he needed to go for dialysis three days a week, meaning the two couldn’t travel. They originally had a trip to Jamaica planned just before Eric’s diagnosis which had to be canceled and are looking at a trip to Aruba this time next year.

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