22 years later, a kidney recipient is waiting for a second transplant

Rapid City, SD (KOTA) – According to United Network for Organ Sharingthere are over 90,000 people in the United States awaiting a kidney transplant. Sheila Johnson of Rapid City is on that list.

On March 13, 2003, Sheila Johnson was given a gift that she could never pay back: Life.

“It all started like 1963 when I was in third grade,” Johnson explained. “I was attending Lincoln School on the hill here, and I was very thin and I was up three or four times a night.

Johnson said it's difficult for her to maintain a good blood sugar level as there wasn't much to do with her home testing.

“And again, the meal was like one bread exchange, two fruit exchanges, etc.” Johnson said. “It's not something that counts today's carbohydrates and is so accurate.”

Between the lack of diet and home testing, Johnson suffered from many health issues.

“Time went by and I became a Rapid City teacher,” Johnson said. “I taught 27 years mainly in the fifth grade, and exploded, and enjoyed my life very much.”

Johnson explained in 2000 that she became very ill and had to retire from teaching to focus on her health.

It was her career in teaching that led to her finding a donor.

“My sister dragged me out of the house because I was so wiped out. I wouldn't go anywhere. “So we went to Rushmore Mall. If we didn't meet one of my students' mothers in the gift shop, we would dare Law and she said, 'Oh, you have to call my husband, he is a bone marrow donor.” So I did it. ”

Just five months later, she received a new kidney and a better quality of life.

“I was so excited, it was a whirlwind. I was able to welcome Nathan, who had only had a few months with me,” Johnson recalls. “It brought the family together, it was a great experience.”

It wasn't the only thing she had received.

“I didn't just take his kidneys, but also his pancreas, and this was not a common surgery so I no longer had diabetes,” Johnson said.

She explained that the disease is extremely difficult to live with, but she only had one insulin shot after surgery to kickstart a new pancreas, but she hasn't been needed since.

“But now my kidneys are failing in 22 years,” Johnson said. “It's long term.”

Johnson is currently returning to the transplant list to receive the kidneys of the deceased donor.

“They last long, but this is a long 22-year transplant time and I'm celebrating today,” Johnson said. “We were told that the deceased donor kidneys last about 10 years.”

Now Johnson is waiting.

“If someone wants to move forward and be tested, they have a website where you can talk to someone in Minneapolis. They will sign up to take the test and see if you match up with being a living donor,” Johnson explained. “If that person's kidneys don't match me, they can still donate and if I want to say that for the kidneys, I can get credit.

Johnson said her doctors are very encouraging for her place on the list.

She said one thing helped her into the process.

“I am a believer, so I always put the Lord on my shoulder,” Johnson said. “I try to keep him with me all the time and not be afraid of anything that happens and what is happening. Looking at this opportunity now, I will live with the outcome, whatever the Lord has chosen.”

Johnson said he wants to bring awareness to the importance of both the kidneys and organ donors.

She said she is grateful for her many doctors, her donors and the gifts of life.

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