Most little girls imagine sharing lots of things with their best friends, as they grow up together. Secrets, clothing, and lipstick in their teens. Favorite novels and relationship advice as they grow up. Perhaps even a dorm room, once they make their way to college.
Shaunte Pringle and Lakeshia Frazier shared plenty in their nearly two dozen years as friends. They met in sixth grade, and went on to share a dream of working in health care. Together, the two women pursued their Certified Nursing Assistant (CAN) certificate. Together, they currently work at Rush Oak Park Hospital.
But last December, just two weeks shy of Christmas, Pringle journeyed to the hospital for another reason, to share the ultimate gift with her oldest, dearest friend. On Dec. 13, Pringle donated Frazier one of her kidneys.
It was in 2004, when Frazier was in her early 20s, that she fell ill. It was the only time in their lives, since they met, that Pringle and Frazier had fallen out of touch. “We lost contact then, because she had moved, and I had moved,” Pringle said. It was during that time that Frazier was diagnosed with Lupus.
The autoimmune disease can compromise many different body systems, and in Frazier’s case, it left her in desperate need of a kidney. In a surprising twist of fate, blood tests proved that both her mother and father were a match. But her father’s diabetes took him out of the running, so Frazier’s first kidney donation came from her mother.
“The kidney transplant can last up to 10 years,” said Pringle, information which she got from Frazier’s doctors. “As long as she’s doing everything and going to every doctor’s appointment,” she said.
Frazier hadn’t quite closed in on a decade since her last transplant when it became clear she’d need another. “I was taking her to dialysis three times a week,” said Pringle, adding that the first kidney was failing and the Lupus flaring up again.
“I always told her that if she ever needed another transplant that I’d be tested for it,” she said. At the time, both Pringle and Frazier’s younger brother were tested and found to be matches. But because the brother wasn’t yet 18, Frazier would have to wait another year for him to be her donor. Pringle stood up instead.
“It’s very rare,” said Pringle, of finding so many matches in people so close. Parents aren’t often the best candidates, especially mothers, but in Frazier’s case, all three of her family members matched. And so did her best friend.
Pringle went through the typical run-through of testing that comes with becoming a donor. Blood tests and ultrasounds to make sure she wasn’t carrying Hepatitis, or any other disease that could affect the kidney. The tests weren’t just for Frazier’s benefit, but for Pringle’s own health.
“They never want to take a kidney from a donor if the donor can’t only live with one,” she said. “If I wasn’t healthy enough … they would have never done the procedure in the first place.”
The surgery was a great success, but the recovery took a bit longer for Pringle than it did for Frazier.
“I lost my appetite, so I didn’t eat, for a couple weeks,” Pringle said. Frazier was also able to get up and get moving around more quickly than her friend, but Pringle didn’t mind. It was enough that she was able to help her friend out of the multiple dialysis treatments every week. Pringle said she’d do it again, in a heartbeat, to help her friend.
Last month, on June 13, the two women celebrated the six month anniversary of the transplant. They’ve long since gone back to their hospital jobs, and life has mostly returned to normal. But they two women still try to do a little something special on the 13th of every month, to commemorate the surgery. Mostly, they go out to eat or indulge in a little shopping spree.
Because transplants often last only a limited number of years, it’s very possible that Frazier will need another in her lifetime. Pringle hopes her story will encourage others to consider getting tested to be donors. It’s a non-life-threatening procedure for the donor, but it can mean the difference between life and death for the recipient.
“It’s as simple as a blood test,” Pringle said.