Page 40 - WilmU - Spring 2017

Says Sten: “I am so thankful that things worked out well for Leo, and that the new kidney made such a dramatic difference for him.”
Center in Baltimore, and the transplant procedure began.
“They went in through my navel using a microscopic instrument and removed my left kidney,” Sten says. “It was a lot bigger than they anticipated. The doctor said it was like wrestling with a bear to get it out.”
The surgical team then spent three hours trimming excess fat from the organ. “I had lost weight on the outside, but I guess I was fat on the inside,” Sten says.
“Afterward, I’m not going to lie, I had some pain, but they had me up and taking a few steps that first day. I only took pain medication that day.”
Dymowski, meanwhile, was sedated for 24 hours while the surgical team completed the transplant. “When he woke up, the kidney was
functioning,” says Sten, “and he said he woke up refreshed.”
Donor and recipient were able to walk to each other’s rooms a day after the operation, which was on Thursday morning. On Saturday, Sten went home.
As for Dymowski, who turned 60 while he was in the hospital, the transplanted organ gave him a new lease on life. Before the operation, he says, “I would come home from work and lie down. Right after the operation, it felt as if I was juiced up, like going from zero to 60. I felt powerful.”
He says the pain was minimal. “Dental surgery was 10 times worse, and I never did take the pain meds they gave me.”
In fact, he felt well enough to run
for circuit court judge in Baltimore County last fall, and Sten helped him in what proved to be an unsuccessful campaign.
Dymowski says he was “blown away” when Sten called his wife and offered to donate a kidney. “Then Dave had to go through months of preparation, and take a lot of time off work.”
Not surprisingly, the two couples have become closer. Dymowski and his wife, Jan, visit the Stens once a month or so, go to church with them, and then to dinner. The Stens’ church supported them throughout the preparation and the actual operation. “There were many people praying for our situation as we waited on the many different tests and their results,” says Sten. “Knowing that so many
38 WilmU magazine