A “Kidney Donor Wanted” sign at Easttown Auto Repair asks people to consider donating a kidney to July Sibilia. (June 20, 2024)
SPRING LAKE, Mich. (WOOD) — More than 100,000 people are on the nation’s transplant waiting list, and of those, more than 85% are waiting for a kidney transplant, according to Donate Life America.
On the lakefront, local business owners are doing all they can to spread awareness of the need for kidney transplants and find new kidneys for friends and coworkers.
You may have noticed this sign on your way to the beach: If you live in Spring Lake, you’ve probably seen the sign outside Easttown Auto Repair and Tire.
“I told Judy, ‘You’re going to hate me in the short term, but if we’re successful, the end result will be worth it,'” said Adam Beck, owner of Easton Auto Repair and Tire.
Beck enlists the help of office manager Judy Sibilia as they search for someone who would appreciate the ultimate gift. The Gift of Life.
“I felt like we could be doing more to bring attention to the need for living donors, especially the need for my friend Judy,” Beck said.
“Kidney Donors Wanted” reads the sign, which has been up for several weeks outside a store on Cleveland Avenue in Spring Lake, urging anyone driving by to consider becoming a kidney donor. Living donorAre you the one Judy has been waiting for?
“I think my faith has helped me believe that God has a bigger plan for me, and part of that is for me to be patient, humble and wait,” Sybilla said.
She was diagnosed with a genetic disorder called polycystic kidney disease in 2012. About three and a half years ago, her kidney function deteriorated and she had to undergo dialysis.
She is able to undergo dialysis at home using a method called peritoneal dialysis.
“It takes eight hours and 40 minutes from start to finish, and then you finish that and then you wake up and have to do the final step four hours later. That’s 13-and-a-half hours of your day, almost 14 hours,” Sibylla said.
Fourteen hours a day. Fourteen hours that mean Sybilla can’t work, play with her grandchildren or do the things she once loved with her husband, Bill.
“Some days are better than others and it’s very unpredictable when that will be, so it’s always difficult to make any kind of plans that involve any amount of distance,” Bill Sibila said.
The couple say they miss travelling and riding their recumbent bikes – they have a daughter and grandchildren in the UK – but dialysis means travelling is no longer possible.
“It’s that way every day. Everything I do, I think, ‘OK, if I’m going to do something in the morning, I need to go to bed at a certain time,’ but there’s only so much I can do,” she said.
Some people Donate a kidney to Judy SibyllaThere is no match yet. One of her daughter’s friends has been approved as a donor. Once Sybilla finds a match, that friend will donate a kidney to someone else in need. In the meantime, Judy, Bill and their colleagues at Easton Auto Repair and Tire are waiting.
“Even if this doesn’t help me find my match – and I certainly hope it does – I just want people to realize that this is a really big need for a lot of people,” she said.
