Mike Eason received the best birthday present ever in January. It was priceless actually. About a week before he turned 63, he received a new kidney.
A mental health therapist for St. Elizabeth Physicians, Eason was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in 2010. It wasn’t until November 2016 that his kidneys declined to the function level required for transplant.
Eason was one of the lucky ones. His new kidney came from a living donor – his niece, Erica Copeland. He never had to go on dialysis. He never had to go on a transplant wait list.
Kidney transplants from living donors offer an average 18-year survival rate, compared to 13 years for a kidney from a deceased donor, according to the Living Kidney Donors Network.
Copeland was the best match out of more than a dozen friends and family who came forward to be screened, including Eason’s wife, Marcia, a retired St. Elizabeth Healthcare Social Worker.
“It’s incredibly humbling that many people came forward,” Eason recalled.
The road to transplant
It was 2014 when doctors first told Eason he’d likely need a kidney transplant and to start looking for a donor. Copeland, 39 and a mother of two, didn’t hesitate. “I’m a big fan [of Mike and Marcia],” she said. “I was like, yes, let’s do this!”
Copeland’s family often attends Sunday meals at the Easons’, along with their other children and grandchildren who live locally. “We claim them as our kids and grandkids,” Eason said.
A relocation to the Cincinnati area in 2011 conveniently placed Copeland, a Michigan native, in the same area of town as the Easons, which made the transplant coordination process easier.
Copeland said several other experiences aligned and inspired her decision.
One of her friends donated her spare kidney to a stranger in 2010. When Copeland moved to the area in 2011, she saw a news story about Channel 9’sTanya O’Rourke, who donated her spare. In 2014, a member from Copeland’s church donated his kidney.
“God was putting all these stories in front of me to prepare me for this,” she noted.
More than a kidney
Both Eason and Copeland note the quality of life challenges with dialysis.
“The process takes a toll on your body,” Eason said. “Dialysis could have worn me down to where I wouldn’t have even been a candidate for transplant.” Copeland is happy knowing her gift prevented her uncle from going down that road.
Now, more than three months after their kidney transplant surgeries, Copeland said she’s feeling great, and if it weren’t for her scar, she’d never know she had surgery.
Eason is getting stronger every day. He’s excited to re-engage in life, do some things he’s never done before and “make the most of this gift of a second chance at life.” He’s back to playing guitar and his keyboard and is looking forward to soon returning to his favorite place in the world ““ the Florida Keys ““ where he and his wife enjoy kayaking and fishing.
“It’s not just a lifesaving act; it’s a life-changing act as well,” he said. “It’s getting back to the things you enjoy doing and being with the people you enjoy being with.” On Sundays, this often means being curled up on the couch with one of his grandchildren or Copeland’s children.
At times, the Easons’ gratitude is almost overwhelming for Copeland.
“They’re so grateful, and I don’t minimize that at all,” she said. “I just tell him to love on his wife and live as long as he can. Everything else is icing on the cake.”
