PATIENT STORY : RECIPIENT FRANK REEVES NOW SERVES AS AN AMBASSADOR FOR KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION
“ There are great people at UAB . Alabamians are fortunate that we have a top transplant facility in the U . S . right here . I ’ ve had a fantastic working kidney for 25 years . Transplantation is an amazing process and the most wonderful thing in the world .”
KIDNEY
ORGANS – KIDNEY
PATIENT STORY : RECIPIENT FRANK REEVES NOW SERVES AS AN AMBASSADOR FOR KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION
Frank Reeves says he has two birthdays . The first was the day he was born 62 years ago , and the second was May 12 , 1998 – the day he received his kidney transplant . Reeves ’ difficult path to that second birthday began when he was 35 and serving as a police officer in Dothan , Ala .
“ I likely had an undiagnosed birth defect ,” Reeves said . “ It caused urine to back up
Frank Reeves and destroy my left kidney and scar my right kidney .” Once diagnosed , Reeves had no choice but to undergo dialysis , which continued for 18 months .
The waiting game For Reeves , peritoneal dialysis was a temporary measure while he awaited a donor kidney . The natural place to turn for a donation was his family . “ My father had undergone cardiac bypass surgery , and my sister planned to have children at some point , so they weren ’ t able to be donors ,” which left only his mother , he said .
“ Mom went to UAB for match testing , and they found a malignant tumor on her left kidney ,” Reeves said , adding that she subsequently had that kidney removed . “ Had it not been for those tests , the cancer wouldn ’ t have been found . The cancer didn ’ t return , and she and my dad are both still with us ; she ’ s 85 , and Dad is 87 .”
Reeves likens the wait for an organ to a long hallway . “ You never know when that doorway at the end is going to open ,” he said . “ But once you walk through that door , it ’ s like you ’ re outside again .”
While on the waiting list for a kidney , Reeves went into end-stage kidney failure . Thankfully , on May 11 , 1998 , Reeves received the call he ’ d been waiting for and headed to UAB Hospital . There , he was cared for by UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute ( CTI ) surgeons Arnold Diethelm , M . D . – who passed away in 2021 – and Carlton Young , M . D . “ There are great people at UAB ,” Reeves said . “ Alabamians are fortunate that we have a top transplant facility in the U . S . right here . I ’ ve had a fantastic working kidney for 25 years . Transplantation is an amazing process and the most wonderful thing in the world .”
An ambassador for transplantation Reeves reflects on the life he was able to live thanks to the generosity of his donor ’ s family . “ I got to see my daughter graduate from high school and college ,” he said . “ I got to walk her down the aisle and watch my grandsons grow and thrive .”
“ There are great people at UAB . Alabamians are fortunate that we have a top transplant facility in the U . S . right here . I ’ ve had a fantastic working kidney for 25 years . Transplantation is an amazing process and the most wonderful thing in the world .”
– Frank Reeves
12 UAB CTI Report