JUST ADD HOPE: Teacher’s coworkers hold fundraisers for a new kidney
ROCKY POINT, NC (WWAY) — Instead of her two front teeth for Christmas, Rocky Point Primary kindergarten teacher Beth Mills just wants a new Kidney. She has about five percent kidney function.
Dysfunctional kidneys are nothing new for Beth, who has been dealing with these issues since she was a little girl. She had her first surgery when she was a nine year old at Rocky Point Primary, she was in the third grade class of a woman who is now her co-worker and still a friend.
Teacher Linda Eakins recalls being with Beth through the surgery to fix the tube from her kidney to her bladder.
“It was just a very personal, very touching moment,” Eakins said. “We prayed for her and watched her come through it and do good, and we’re expecting the same thing with this one.”
Beth’s surgery planned for this summer is more intense though, she now has to replace one of her kidneys. Beth says the process has been full of lots of bad and good, one of the best moments being when she discovered her husband Adam was her perfect match.
Although Beth has a donor and insurance will help with the transplant, the lifelong medication she’ll need is a daunting thought.
“The anti-rejection meds are so expensive come post-transplant,” Beth said. “They’ll be more than what my mortgage is. So we’re just trying to raise as much as we can so basically we can stay in our house.”
But Beth’s family, friends and fellow teachers are helping Beth raise money by hosting events in her honor, giving her and her husband a positive outlook.
Beth is excited to come together with her new kidney. She said she’s not scared about the surgery, just looking forward to having energy for the first time in almost 20 years.
“I think I have felt bad for so long, I don’t know what it means to feel good,” she said. “I’m just super, super excited about the whole process.”
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