It's fair to call it a miracle of sorts that car dealer Molly Williams is healthy.
Williams, 45, desperately needed a new kidney in June and was running out of options. A dozen of her friends and family got tested to donate, but none matched.
"I was concerned," said Williams, who suffers from an inherited disorder. "I'm such a control freak, but I can't control this and I really wanted a kidney before I needed dialysis."
With 2,400 people on Michigan's waiting list to receive a kidney, the wait is typically four to five years. But Williams' kidney health had deteriorated so rapidly, she was a few months away from needing dialysis to live, said Dr. Ronini Prashar, Williams' doctor.
"Patients on dialysis die faster than those who receive a transplant," said Prashar, medical director of the Living Donor Kidney Transplant Program at Henry Ford Transplant Institute in Detroit.
And dialysis saps quality of life. "You’re looking at being hooked to a machine for three days a week for the rest of your life," said Dr. Prashar.
Williams' situation was dire until a stranger and an unusual set of circumstances intervened. She met a monk and then a new friend at her gym. The miracle followed.
Football-sized kidneys
Williams, a Bingham Farms resident, is a successful auto executive. She started her career in 1999 at Matick Auto Group in Redford where she is the chief operating officer. Over the years, she has hired and mentored other women for careers at George Matick Chevrolet and Matick Toyota stores.
But Williams has polycystic kidney disease, which causes clusters of cysts to develop in the kidneys, leading to kidney failure. To put it in perspective: A healthy kidney should be the size of a fist. Williams' kidneys, full of cysts,are the size of footballs, she said.
A mother of two teenage girls and a 10-year-old boy, Williams' mother had a kidney transplant in 1998. She has thrived because the disease does not attack a new kidney. Her mother's new kidney came from a living donor, which is preferable to a cadaver, doctors say.
"The kidneys last longer and the patients live longer than those who receive a donor from a deceased person," Prashar said. "A deceased donor’s kidney has to be on ice as it’s transported and that can lead to some damage and the kidney doesn’t work right away. They have to stay on dialysis a few weeks before the kidney kick-starts. It may not work as efficiently either."
Exploring options
At least 12 potential donors got tested. One was a high school friend who flew here from Pennsylvania to undergo eight hours of tests. She was a blood and tissue match.
"I wanted it to be her so bad," said Williams. "I've known her since I was a freshman in high school."
But a medical complication disqualified her from giving a kidney to Williams. Many others, including Williams' husband, a neighbor, her in-laws and even a fellow manager at Matick Chevrolet were tested. No luck. But Williams persevered.
"The whole thing was incredible. I don't know what it would be like to be on the other side," said Williams. "I have no judgment on who got tested and who didn't."
On June 26, Williams drove to Toledo to start the process to register at the University of Toledo Medical Center for a kidney donor. There, the average wait time to receive a kidney is only 18 months. Ohio's higher rates of drug overdoses and motorcycle accidents compared with Michigan result in more deceased organ donors, she said.
"I had to get my mind around it could be Toledo and it might not be a living donor," said Williams. "The whole time, in my mind, I kept thinking I don't want dialysis."
Detroit's miracle worker
Meanwhile, Williams leaned on her Catholic faith for solace.
The late Father Solanus Casey is widely known as Detroit's miracle worker. So on July 18, Williams and her family, her bosses Karl Zimmerman and Paul Zimmerman, and Katie Matick, the wife of the late car dealer George Matick, took her to a 2 p.m. Mass at the Solanus Casey Center on Mount Elliott in Detroit.
Father Solanus Casey (Photo: Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph)
It was "one of the best experiences" of her life, she said.
"I went up to the altar. They all had their hands on me and I got blessed by a monk," Williams said. "The monk said the reason flowers were on the altar was because a man came there the previous week needing a lung transplant. The day we were there, the man was getting his lung transplant."
Nineteen days later, her doctor called her with news: There was a healthy, living donor who matched her.
A calling
The donor was Kristi Cooper, 46, of Beverly Hills, Michigan. She is a single mother of 16-year-old twin boys. She and Williams knew each other, but only casually — strangers almost.
The two met at Orangetheory Fitness in Birmingham about 18 months ago. They would make small talk there waiting for their fitness class to start. They developed a casual friendship. When Williams missed a couple of classes in July, Cooper asked her why.
"She had never mentioned anything about being sick, but she said, 'I need a kidney,' " said Cooper. "She said, 'I'm getting discouraged because I match people and then they get ruled out.' I said, 'Well, I'll get tested.' "
Williams didn't take Cooper's offer seriously. Many people had told Williams they'd get tested only to have a change of heart. But Cooper was different, telling her, "Molly, you never know why you meet people. Maybe this is why we were meant to meet."
On July 23, Cooper went to Henry Ford Hospital in West Bloomfield to get her blood tested. On Aug. 6, while standing in line to check into a hotel on a business trip, the hospital called Cooper to confirm she matched Williams.
Molly Williams (in bed) and Kristi Cooper (standing) on Oct. 10 at Henry Ford Hospital right before transplant surgery. Cooper donated her kidney to Williams. (Photo: Bob Williams)
With Cooper's permission, the nurse next called Williams with the news.
"This is huge. She's going to put herself through this surgery?" said Williams upon learning that Cooper was willing to give her a kidney. "I kept thinking: 'Would I do this for someone?' It took me days to put my mind around it. I can't ask this of someone I don't know."
But for Cooper it was a no-brainer.
"It was just a calling. It was a purpose," said Cooper. "We both call it divine intervention. I remember thinking the whole time, 'I'm your person.' "
Evaluating the risk
Initially, Cooper's family was less enthusiastic. Her parents feared the risks of surgery, blood loss and infection. Her 68-year-old mother worried that "something would happen to my other kidney and I would need the one I gave away. Or what if the boys needed a kidney and I gave it away?"
With more research, her parents came around. They are now proud of her selflessness, she said. But Cooper's sons were scared, asking whether she could live with just one kidney and if the surgery could kill her. Yes, and yes.
"I was honest with them that the risk is very low, I'm in very good health and we have a great team of surgeons working on us," Cooper said.
Prashar said a healthy donor usually recovers without issues, but they do run a chance of developing high-blood pressure. They need to see their doctor at least once a year after the donation, she said.
"We make every donor go through a strict psychological evaluation to make sure they are OK with the risks," Prashar said. "They are given a chance to opt out at any time. We would tell the recipient that something didn't work out, they would never be told the donor backed out, so as to not ruin their relationship.”
On Oct. 10, the day of the transplant at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, the doctors told Cooper she could back out right up until they anesthetized her. Cooper admits she got scared about 5 minutes before heading in for surgery. She started crying.
"I realized I could die. I might not ever see my children again," Cooper said. "But my parents where there and gave me strength and reassured me. I said I have to give this over to God and if this is it, then this is it. But I have to do this."
Wisdom gained
Each woman spent six to eight hours in surgery and two to three days recovering in the hospital.
Williams now has three kidneys, though her old ones are dormant. The doctors left her two non-functioning kidneys in her because it's safer than removing them. They added the third, healthy one that Cooper gave her. Her kidney function now is "great," Prashar said.
Both women are doing well, said Prashar. Williams, who can't return to work until January, said she has a new lease on life. She feels the healthiest she has felt in a long time and considers Cooper her hero.
"The courage it took, I can't get my arms around that," said Williams. "I hardly knew her and she got tested. It's incredible."
Molly Williams leaving Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit on Saturday, Oct. 13 after kidney transplant surgery. (Photo: Bob Williams)
Williams said surrendering control and having faith saved her too, adding, "God's plan is so much better than what you can figure out on your own."
For Cooper, she has opened her world to new friends and she has a deeper appreciation for living in the present, focusing on giving to others.
"I feel she saved me. I had this community embrace me," Cooper said. "The unknown is scary, but what you get out of being able to help someone save their life is worth it."
Contact Jamie L. LaReau: 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com
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