一年前的12月, 一个非凡的爱情故事, sacrifice and family was approaching its culmination within Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
那一天，纳内特·朱姆沃尔特 — a wife, mother and entrepreneur who had been battling polycystic kidney disease (PKD) — was preparing to undergo a life-changing kidney transplant. Her journey to that point was not straight forward; it took an unforeseen path of fate, 爱与慷慨.
That journey began in 2015 when Zumwalt embarked on an impromptu trip with her youngest son, 埃里克, 刚刚从皇冠hga025大学洛杉矶分校毕业, 还有她的女儿, 奥利维亚. 她已经被PKD控制了, an inherited condition in which cysts grow on the kidneys and cause excruciating pain.
Although many volunteers from her circle of family and friends had come forward as potential kidney donors, 没有发现一个是合适的匹配. It would take a serendipitous meeting in Spain to find the person who would change the course of Zumwalt’s life.
偶然相遇
Zumwalt and her son and daughter were enjoying an evening dancing in a bar in Barcelona when his son met a young woman who would be the key to putting Zumwalt on a road to better health.
“命运就是这么有趣，”朱姆沃尔特说. “I wanted to go to Vienna, but 埃里克 and 奥利维亚 wanted to go to Barcelona. So, we end up in Barcelona and we go to a bar and 埃里克 meets Juliana there. 她不会说英语. 他不会说西班牙语. 但是他们相爱了.”
As the young couple’s relationship developed, there were trips to Spain to strengthen the bonds between the two families. On one of those trips, Zumwalt confided in Juliana’s mother, Diana Bedoya, about her battle with PKD.
“Once I found out about Nanette’s condition, I knew I had to be the donor,” Bedoya said. “毫无疑问.”
埃里克和朱莉安娜于2021年结婚. 同年, 贝多亚从西班牙来到洛杉矶, 和皇冠hga025大学洛杉矶分校, to be tested as a potential donor for her new in-law. 朱莉安娜也扮演了重要角色. Bedoya didn’t speak 英语 well, so her daughter became her intermediary. “I was the one talking to doctors on behalf of my mom,” Juliana said.
找对医生
Zumwalt’s mother had PKD and died in 2002 from conditions related to the disease. Despite knowing her predisposition to PKD, Zumwalt remained largely unaware about the condition. “When my mother died of PKD-related heart failure, not one doctor said, ‘Hey, this is genetic. You should probably get this checked out,’” Zumwalt said.
A series of discouraging encounters with physicians who offered little information or support eventually led Zumwalt to UCLA and Anjay Rastogi医学博士他是 CORE肾脏健康计划. 自2012年以来，她一直在他的照顾下.
“When Nanette and [Zumwalt’s husband] Rick first came to me, I wanted to make sure they were encouraged and reassured they were in the right hands,” Dr. Rastogi说. “They had received disturbing news from other physicians, but I knew we at UCLA had the best doctors and resources. There was no doubt that she was going to overcome this.”
“We knew we were at the right place,” Zumwalt said. “Dr. Rastogi was a godsend and renewed so much hope and optimism within me and my family.”
重生的纪念日
Once Bedoya was confirmed as a compatible donor, the path to Zumwalt’s eventual transplantation became clear.
“Donating an organ is probably the most altruistic decision a person can make,” said H. 阿尔宾·格里奇，医学博士他是朱姆沃尔特的外科医生. “There is no way to place a value on restoration of kidney function and a normal quality of life.”
The surgery took place on December 20, 2022. “This is the anniversary of my rebirth,” Zumwalt says. “I went to sleep before the surgery feeling sick, and I woke up feeling significantly different. I didn’t realize how sick I was because I just kept pushing through. Now, I’m walking on the sunny side of the street.”
While donors and recipients often share a special bond, the one between Zumwalt and Bedoya is on another level, 由命运创造的纽带. “My son, daughter and I go to a bar in Barcelona. There he meets Juliana, falls in love and they get married,” she marvels. “And my new daughter-in-law’s mother ends up being my kidney donor. 这是多么疯狂啊?”
