She gave a kidney, but didn't stop there

[Clark]

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/she-gave-a-kidney--but-didnt-stop-there-124959184.html

She gave a kidney, but didn't stop there

When her sister's kidneys failed several years ago, Audrey Lehn never hesitated to step up to become a donor.
After undergoing months of testing, she received confirmation that her kidney was a near-perfect match, and in December 2007 she underwent surgery, ultimately saving her sister's life.
"There's just my sister and myself. We have no other siblings," said Lehn, a lifelong Winnipegger. "At first you're devastated to know that her kidneys are lost. Then you just want to get on with the next step and you want it to be fast. I was hurrying this testing along so that we weren't too late. To hear that I was a match was, for me, my biggest wish in the world."
The surgery proved to be a success with immediate positive results. Lehn said that many think she made the ultimate sacrifice for her sibling, but she sees it very differently.
"I don't see it as a sacrifice," said Lehn, adding her sister's kidney failure was believed to have come as a complication of lupus. "People are always saying to me, 'What a gift you gave your sister.' I say that what a gift for me that she is alive and well and flourishing. The gift was really for me. It's brought us closer."
Throughout the ordeal the sisters were supported by many different agencies -- one of them being the Kidney Foundation of Canada's Manitoba branch. That's why Lehn became a volunteer for the organization a year ago, sitting on the patient services committee. The volunteer committee focuses on ways to bring education and support to patients living with kidney disease and their families, as well as awareness about kidney-related illnesses to the general public.
"I wanted to, in some small way, give back. The Manitoba Kidney Foundation and Transplant Manitoba are two organizations that are known for their education and information and support and we certainly received that as patients," said Lehn, an Old Kildonan resident.
One of the groups' top priorities is planning a daylong symposium that takes place each fall. The symposium brings together patients with speakers who focus on a wide range of topics -- from health experts who can answer their tough medical questions to chefs who can teach patients kidney-friendly recipes and cooking techniques. For Lehn, it was important to be involved with promoting prevention, treatment and awareness of kidney-related illnesses.
"For me, volunteering has always been important. I didn't volunteer every year of my adult life, but I knew that I'd always come back to volunteering -- it was a part of my life and this was particularly important to me," said Lehn, adding her sister has also become a volunteer. "I'm celebrating. Volunteering for me now is really a celebration of what's happened and that I've gotten (my sister) back. She'd do it for me."
If you would like more information or would like to become a Kidney Foundation of Manitoba volunteer, please call 204-989-0800 or toll-free at 1-800-729-7176. You can also visit the organization online at www.kidney.ca.
If you know a special volunteer who strives to make their community a better place to live, please contact Erin Madden at erinmadden@shaw.ca