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By Suzanne Haugh, Staff Writer
ROSWELL—A father’s love for his daughter, a mother of
three, brought to light her critical need of a kidney.
Larry Nicholls, a parishioner at Holy Spirit Church in Atlanta,
contacted The Georgia Bulletin to place a classified ad for his daughter Cindy
Gough, 43, who inherited a kidney disease and is in end-stage renal failure. If
a compatible donor is not found soon, Gough will need to go on dialysis.
Gough, a parishioner at St. Peter Chanel Church in Roswell, has
worked as a part-time flight attendant for Delta Airlines for the last 20 years
and cares for a 10-year-old son and twins who are 2 1/2 years old. Her husband,
Jim, is self-employed.
“I knew I had (the disease) in my 20s, but it got a lot worse
after I had the twins,” she said.
She is on a waiting list for a kidney from a compatible donor with
any B or O blood type. One person is currently being evaluated as a donor, a
process that takes between four to six weeks. But finding a compatible donor
will be a challenge for Gough since, as a result of her last pregnancy, her
body has built up antibodies that will attack foreign bodies introduced into
her system, leaving only a small percentage of the population with her blood
type as an acceptable match.
“I wouldn’t be so darn worried if it weren’t for
the antibodies,” she said. “I sometimes get this panicky feeling that
I’m going to be on dialysis my whole life.”
But she says she finds comfort from her doctors and nurses.
“They always tell me, ‘There’s a perfect kidney out
there for you,’” she said. “They even said that sometimes the
antibodies decay. I hope they might over time.”
Gough would need to go on public dialysis, which would involve
going to a unit three times a week for 3 to 4 hours.
Her husband has made his e-mail address --
jamesgough@mindspring.com-- public to anyone interested in becoming a donor.
Potential candidates must be approximately 20 to 60 years old and be in good
health. He writes, “Thank you for taking time to consider this request.
Cindy appreciates your prayers as well.”
To inquire about going through the donor evaluation process,
contact Gough at (770) 642-6405. |
