By Stephen Kindland
Staff writer
GREEN COVE SPRINGS -- Sisters Betzy Nelson and Mary Justino are recovering nicely at Shands Gainesville following their surgery on Tuesday, June 30, in which Justino donated a kidney to her older sibling.
Nurse Sara Dean wrote in a Web site journal that Justino, a public information officer for the Clay County Sheriff's Office, was able to leave her room across the hall and visit with Nelson, a veteran health education teacher at Orange Park High School, for about 45 minutes Thursday morning.
Both patients are on pain medication, which "means progress," according to Dean.
The Web site page was set up by another sister, Donna Habing, who lives in California, to keep friends, family and the general public informed as the two sisters progress through the transplant procedure. A fourth sister, Colleen Soffa, is a psychologist with the Clay County school district.
Anyone wishing to visit the site, which has received more than 500 visitors, can go to www.caringbridge.org/visit/betzynelson/journal or www.caringbridge.org and type in betzynelson under “Visit a CaringBridge Web site.”
Nelson’s nationwide search for a donor took a dramatic turn three months after she was told that Justino was among 50 prospective donors -- including many extended family members -- who weren’t suitable matches.
With the clock ticking, further tests revealed that Justino’s kidneys were suitable after all. However, Nelson will be dependant on strong medications the rest of her life because her sister’s kidney isn’t a perfect match.
Nelson has a genetic condition called polycystic disease that makes her prone to cysts throughout her body, including her kidneys. The 53-year-old mother of three’s kidney function fell 20 percent last August, and to 15 percent when she and her family began searching for a donor in late January.
Medical studies indicate the procedure can add 20 or more years to a person’s life when a kidney is transplanted from a live donor.
July 16th 2009 - 3:25PM