You Don’t Regret Saving a Life
Sara Dornbrook’s husband, Miles, was 23 years old when he learned he had Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). This genetic disease is passed to a child by an affected parent. It causes an uncontrolled growth of cysts in the kidney, eventually leading to kidney failure. When Miles was told he had high blood pressure at a routine allergy appointment, he immediately knew it was PKD. His mother and several other family members had already been diagnosed, and high blood pressure is one of the symptoms.
Miles would spend the next 15 years battling his diagnosis, going in and out of the hospital due to numerous complications. These complications included cyst ruptures, which led to internal bleeding and severe pain. This significantly impacted Miles, Sara, and their family as he began to struggle with his day-to-day life. Even with the PKD diagnosis, this was unexpected as PKD often does not affect patients until they are older, and this had been the case for the rest of his family members.
In 2020, Miles’ condition began to decline very quickly. In the past, Miles' kidney function numbers would drop 4% a year. In 2020, he started at 17% and would be down to 4% kidney function on transplant day (January 2021). Experiencing all of this during the height of COVID-19 was extremely tough due to the restrictions and constant changes in hospital protocols. Sara, however, looks back at this as a blessing in disguise as she was able to stay home and care for Miles and their children because of it.
Sara had already considered the possibility of becoming a living donor for Miles' mother in the past and had been a match. However, at that time they decided to use another donor who also matched due to the possibility of Miles or one of their kids needing a transplant in the future. Therefore, Sara felt confident she would be a match for Miles, and did not hesitate to move forward with the process when this was proven true. They were so happy to be a match. A new kidney via living donation meant another family did not have to lose a loved one in order for Miles to live.
In June of 2020, Sara began the rigorous testing process of becoming a living donor. She explains that it is essential to understand what you are getting into as the process is long and in-depth. However, she knew from day one that it was never a question if she would donate to save her husband's life. Sara encourages anyone considering becoming a donor to utilize Facebook support groups, ask questions, and ensure they talk to their transplant team. The donation and transplantation took place in January 2021 and both were highly successful surgeries.
After Sara’s living donation and Miles’ transplant surgeries, Sara's mom was crucial in their recovery. Since Sara was the donor, not only could she not be Miles' designated caregiver post-transplant, but they would both need help. Sara actually felt that Miles bounced back quicker than she did. He had been so sick for so long that it was like his body got a jump start when he received her kidney. Miles experienced some minor complications, but is doing very well post-transplant. Due to the medications that his transplant requires, he has developed diabetes, which adds a whole new level of care to his transplant. Sara experienced a great recovery and says the only impact on her life is she drinks more water and is careful when taking ibuprofen! She says, "I have nothing wrong to say about it - I really don't come across people that regret these kinds of things because you saved a life.”
Sara and Miles were passionate advocates before the transplant, participating in the PKD Walk and other events. Since then, Sara has been using her pageant platform exposure to promote these awareness walks. They even wrote a family book about their journey to inspire other families.
Sara feels it is important to acknowledge that the transplant process is challenging for families, especially for children. She explains that they did not fully understand what was happening to their dad, and this made it extremely hard for their family. Even looking back at home videos during this time can be hard. The Dornbrook family transplant recovery was even more complicated than others as not only was Dad recovering, but so was Mom! They were extremely grateful for the support of their family and friends during the recovery.
Sara and Miles also have an increased commitment and dedication to raising awareness since PKD is a genetic disorder that may affect their children later in life. Every day, there are new technological advances. Sara feels it is her responsibility to raise awareness for PKD and organ donation to ensure future generations do not have to worry about PKD or receiving a transplant before it is too late. It is a goal of Sara's that she did not even realize would be a goal. She has served on the PKD Foundation's Milwaukee Chapter, and her most significant focus since has been raising awareness in the world of pageants. Due to her platform, she has reached thousands about the importance of PKD and organ donation. Sara has also helped to inspire other pageant participants to show their support.
