‘Miracle’ man - Last-gasp kidney transplant gives 32-y-o new lease on life

Kasey Tulloch was wracked with disappointment as he pondered how death would rob him of his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot. Now, he has been given new wings.

Tulloch’s diagnosis of chronic kidney disease in 2014 had pushed his mother, Mitzie Cross, to the brink of giving up when a “miracle” transplant rescued her 32-year-old son.

Mired in depression with no will to live, Ms Cross was lifted out of misery when her 53-year-old brother, Kirk Cross, decided to donate one of his kidneys in a bid to save his nephew’s life after several failed attempts to land Tulloch a matching organ.

Ms Cross, who migrated to the United States with her two children years ago, expressed gratitude to her brother, who still resides in Jamaica. She has also lauded the medical team, comprising Dr Bruce Gelb, assistant professor of surgery at New York University Langone Health, who performed the life-saving transplant on Tulloch, and Margaret Frank Bader, administrative nurse. The surgical team was invited to a thanksgiving service at the Kitson Town Seventh-day Adventist Church and a get-together at the family home in the St Catherine community on Saturday.

Tears of joy flowed down Ms Cross’ cheeks as she recounted the nail-biting ordeal as her family hunted for a kidney that would be the perfect match.

“I was in a state of depression because as a child, Kasey wanted to become a pilot, and that’s what he was studying when we found out his kidneys were bad,” said Cross, a nurse technician at NYU.

“What really tore me apart was when he looked at me and said, ‘Mommy, I can’t be a pilot anymore,’” Ms Cross told The Gleaner, disclosing that she was rejected as a kidney candidate because she has diabetes. Two other family members were also disallowed from offering a kidney.

“At one point, I felt like walking out in the streets and let something hit me, thinking that they would probably take my kidney at that time to save the life of my only son,” Cross declared.

Brain damage

To complicate matters, Ms Cross revealed that Tulloch suffered a stroke that damaged the frontal lobe of his brain – a tragedy she thought he would not have survived.

“It was at this juncture that my brother stepped in and offered Kasey one of his kidneys, not knowing whether it would work, but we were very optimistic, so Dr Gelb began the process of getting him a visa to travel to the US,” she disclosed.

Kirk Cross expressed his delight to see his nephew make a complete recovery. Tulloch is finally living a normal life.

“I just know I had to do it. When you see a family member on the brink of dying and you can do something about it, you have to act,” Kirk told The Gleaner.

“I told my sister that if I should die in the process, she was to give both kidneys to Kasey,” he added.

Tulloch is counting his blessings but has reserved special praise for his uncle and the medical team.

“It is indeed a miracle,” he said. “Before this, my life was so different going around doing dialysis four hours every day. My entire life has changed, thanks to Uncle Kirk, Dr Bruce, and Nurse Margaret. I am humbled from this experience.”

Meanwhile, Gelb, who has done more than 500 laparoscopic surgical operations in his career, and Frank Bader refused to take any credit for their work.

“People like Kirk, who donated his kidney, are the real hero. He is a hero to his family and his community,” said Gelb.

“They both had a great recovery, and when we see recovery like this, transplant surgeries are even more rewarding,” he said, while imploring Jamaicans to consider organ donation.

That position was recently advocated by Dr Michael Brooks, president of the Jamaica Urological Society.

Brooks has called for the establishment of a national kidney transplant programme in Jamaica, pointing to the alarming number of patients on dialysis.

According to him, more than 2,000 Jamaicans are currently on dialysis, and only 12 kidney transplants have been done here in the last five years. This compares with more than 200 done at NYU Hospital last year, of which 60 involved living donors.