Friday, July 8th 2022, 5:29 pm
A woman said her life is changed forever thanks to a new program at Ascension St. John.
Dorothy Haynes was the first patient at the hospital to successfully get bariatric surgery before her kidney transplant.
Many people who need a lifesaving kidney transplant are at high risk because they're overweight, so this new "Bridge Program" helps people get weight loss surgery first, so they have a better chance of getting a kidney transplant.
Haley Lewis and Hannah Scace are sisters and work in separate parts of Ascension St. John.
Haley is the transplant director. ”I've been lucky to work with an incredible team," Haley said.
Hannah is the bariatric coordinator. "I have an incredible team, everybody is really passionate," Hannah said.
But now they're working together through the new bridge program that helps patients successfully lose weight and then get a kidney transplant, all in the same place.
“Dorothy is our first patient to get through bariatric and be transplanted," said Haley.
"I couldn't have been on this journey without them," said Dorothy Haynes.
Dorothy Haynes went into renal failure four years ago and was told she would need to go on dialysis. She needed a transplant, but first Dorothy had to quit smoking.
She did, but then she had to lose weight, and she did with the help of surgery.
"I was finally put on the transplant list almost 4 years later," said Dorothy.
Dorothy got the call she was receiving a kidney and had a successful transplant surgery four months ago.
She wrote a letter to the donor's family trying to find the words to express her gratitude.
“I don't know how you can say thank you," she said.
Hannah and Haley said this what it’s all about, and they hope to see many more lives saved thanks to this new program.
"I couldn't ask for better people on either side of it," Haley said.
Dorothy said she has gone through a few setbacks but feels good and is thankful she has more time to devote to her family.
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