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I am a true believer of what comes around goes around.

As some of you know and some might not I have a brother who really has been through a lot in his 28 years of life. The short story is back in 2002 he was hit by a hit and run driver and left for dead. After 3-4 months of being in the hospital we was released and began his life as a quadriplegic. Though he has moved in his arms the medical community labels him as a quadriplegic do to the fact that the injury has left him with VERY limited dexterity if any at all.

After trying to get on with his life and trying to return to school he was dealt another life threatening blow. In October 2005 he fell ill with septic shock and nearly passed. The lasting effects of that infection left him without Kidney function and on dialysis. (More details about his story here in my bio).

Since you can not life a full life on dialysis nor can you have any independence since you have to have dialysis everyday the only way for him to move on with life was to receive a donor kidney. With him being disabled this only complicated the logistics and politics of the whole matter. Anyway no one in the family matched as a donor so his prospects looked very bleak that a donor would be found. That was until the most amazing act of kindness I have ever witnessed took place. His night nurse and care giver knew she was a blood type match and offered to get tissue testing done. Turns out she was a perfect match.

So fast forwarding to today.....Doctors at The University of Michigan performed, and to quote the doctors, " a seemingly routine" transplant. When I left this evening the new kidney was showing strong signs of function and both my brother and the donor are doing great. We all certainly hope it will continue to progress in the right direction and this will be another hurdle down in the long road to recovery.

Here is one of the stories about my brother Tim and his nurse Caryn published today in the local papers. Unfortunately it is the only one online.
Article

So, I just thought I would share the story with everyone and thank those who have all ready passed along their kind words.

Cheers,
Jeff

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Just when you have read one too many middle east stories, or stories about what a mom somewhere has done to her kids, and just when you think there is no hope for mankind, you give us this gem, Jeff, and our cups are filled for a while.

God bless your brother and his nurse.

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Wow - thats great news Jeff. Glad to hear your brother and his donor are doing well. All my best!

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Jeff,

Wonderful news! What an amazing thing that his nurse was a match. Tim's story has given me much pause for thought since you told us about it some time ago, the fight in him, the care and love your family displays for one another. Inspirational bunch, the Rohlfings.

Here's wishing you all the best.

Mike

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Best wishes and a prayer to your brother and family Jeff.
Thanks for sharing Tim's story.

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Jeff,

All my best to you and your family.
Hope you will share good times with them.

Alain

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Well it has been a good week. My brother was released on Sunday evening after his final major dose of anti-rejection medication. Now back home with my parents he is doing very well with recovering. His body has had no signs of rejection and his kidney function is great. His donor is also doing very well and is home with her family. It is nice to finally have something good come out of a hospital stay.

Again, Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and kind words.

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Great news Jeff. Still sending positive thoughts your way.

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That is great, Jeff! Here's to your hero (and now ours) and to the caregiver who really cared! Keep us posted, brother!

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Jeff,
Wow, I just caught this thread. I am thrilled to hear about your brother's progress. We will throw up in prayer.
Mike

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Just came across it too, that's excellent news! When I was taking care of my mom, was continually amazed at the level of kindness and compassion the visiting nurses, home health aids, and respite volunteers showed every day. It's a big part of what got me through and really renewed my faith in people, as does the story of your brother and his nurse. Thanks for sharing and continued success!

Dave

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Jeff I'm really moved by your brothers courageous fight and glad things are turning in his favor. I only hope that continues and snowballs into even greater miracles for him.

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Jeff,
I'm glad to finally hear some good news about your brother.
I lost a nephew to Muscular Dystrophy, and am familiar with how helpless one can feel....
I will continue to watch for your description of his first ride in the Whaler....
Best of Luck To You and Yours!

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Jeff, its great to hear that your brother`s doing well, He is in my prayers.

Rich

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Thanks Rich.

He ended up back in the hospital after the transplant with a very bad infection that surfaced do the immunosuppressants he had to take. He spent another 5 days in the hospital because of this however it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

For the past 2 years he had getting what the doctors thought were UTI's (biggest and most common problem for wheel chair bond people) and to go along with that he had very strong abdominal pains. I know that sounds funny but, just because a Spinal Cord injury patient has no feeling or movement that does not mean they can not feel it at all. His body could still sense the pains and react to it and he has learned over time to recognize certain sensations and other feelings to figure out what the rest of his body is doing. The part of his body he can not feel or move still works and has a mind of its own just those nerve signals never make it past the point of injury for his brain to recognize.

Any way so they symptoms would show up and the doctors would think it was just another minor infection and treat with standard antibiotics. Over time it would seem to go away only to reoccur again. After learning of this pattern the doctors at UofM dug deeper and found through blood testing that he had a very drug resistant bacteria in his system and it is only known to exist in hospitals. So that means he contracted it last time he was in the hospital in 05 with sepcitic shock and because his general practitioner just thought it was a standard infection the antibiotics he prescribed never killed the infection. They would only send it into remission to resurface again. So in the end it was all for the good. And after many IV doses of heavy antibiotics he is doing the best I have ever seen him since the hit an run that put him in the wheel chair. He is heading up north with my parent for 2 weeks of vacation Saturday. My wife and I are going to join up for a couple days so I am looking forward to that. I am also hoping for some calm lake conditions on Lake Michigan so maybe we can get him on the 22 guardian for a ride. I honestly can not remember what the last ride I shared with him was. One of those moments you wish you could have over again so you could really take in how important it really was.