Sterling Man Donates Kidney to Father-in-Law

Darius Tenopir of Sterling started researching information on organ donation in January. He knew his father-in-law, Jim Lawrence, who lives in Arizona, needed a kidney transplant and even though he and Lawrence did not have the same blood type, Tenopir knew he wanted to find out if his kidney could be a match. Lawrence spent the last year and a half on dialysis for nine hours a day. His kidneys were only functioning at five to 10 percent. Lawrence had other medical issues that kept coming up as well.
“The worst they can tell you is that you don’t match,” Tenopir said. He remembers the day he was notified that his kidney could be a match for Lawrence. Then came the testing phase. Tenopir made two trips to St. Joseph Hospital in Arizona for most of the blood work, CT scans and ultrasounds. He indicated that blood labs and scans were also sent to Labcorp Blood Services in Lincoln, Nebraska as well. Overall, 32 vials of blood were collected during this process.
“Finally, everything started coming together and the surgery was scheduled,” said Tenopir.
Darius and his family: wife, Jami, and children, Nadalee, Zeke, Julia and Madelyn, flew to Arizona and stayed in a hotel. On June 23, the Tenopirs arrived at St. Joseph Hospital at 5:30 a.m., with the surgery scheduled for 7:30 a.m.
“I was the most relaxed I’ve ever been in my life,” said Tenopir about the morning of the organ transplant. He could tell that Lawrence was excited about having a new kidney as he showed up at St. Joseph’s Hospital at 5:30 a.m. on the day of the surgery as well, when he wasn’t scheduled to arrive until 6:30 a.m.
“Everything went perfect during the surgery,” said Tenopir.
Today, Tenopir feels fine, which is a typical outcome for the donor. “Drink water, walk a lot and relax,” were the main orders from his doctors. After a two-week follow-up with the doctors at St. Joseph Hospital in Arizona, Darius and his family returned home to Sterling on July 7. He took the first week after his return off from his duties as utilities superintendent for the Village of Sterling, then returned to work half-days for another week and is now back to work full-time.
“The only stipulation I really had upon returning home is that I couldn’t lift anything over 10 pounds,” said Tenopir. He also indicated that he has to stay away from lunch meat and watch his sodium intake. Tenopir and his wife, Jami, enjoys taking walks along Sterling’s walking path at the city park. Darius hopes to get back to running again in order to stay more active as well. Tenopir will continue to have check-ups at six months, one year and two years.
Tenopir said his father-in-law looked like a whole different person after the kidney transplant. “He could have another 25 years of life because of the organ donation,” said Tenopir. “I think we’re both ready to play a game of golf.”
Tenopir said the donation of his kidney has also made it easier for his mother-in-law, Susan, who can now sleep through the night instead of getting up to change dialysis machines or dispose of fluids.
Darius does not consider himself a hero. “I’m glad it worked. Everyone deserves a good quality of life.”