God brought the two together to save his life

CROOKSVILLE - Even as she took her vows last August to love, honor and cherish, 30-year-old Kellie Mendenhall knew the man she was marrying could potentially become very ill one day. 

"He joked with me on our first date asking me what my blood type was," Kellie said. "And I would tease him by telling him he better be nice to me because he may need my kidney one day." As it turned out, she was right.

Hans Mendenhall, 31, was born with Wilms tumor, a type of cancer that starts in the kidneys. At 9 months old, Hans had one of his kidneys removed followed by preventative chemotherapy. 

Throughout his life, Hans knew that the possibility of kidney failure was very high and he would likely need a transplant one day.

No one expected the need would come just two months after his wedding.

Following his nephrectomy as an infant, Hans was placed on blood pressure medication until he was 2 years old. 

"High blood pressure is a side effect of Wilms tumor," Hans said. "I did pretty good until I became a teenager. When I was 16 I had to start taking blood pressure medication again."

Hans excelled as an athlete, and was named Times Recorder's athlete of the year his senior year. 

"When I was in my early 20s, I realized psoriasis, anemia and gout were also associated with kidney failure," Hans said. 

Throughout his 20s Hans experienced a few complications as a result of his failing kidney but he didn't let it slow him down.

"He was the type of person who only needed four or five hours of sleep," Kellie said. "He was always working and up doing something, he never slowed down." 

A few of weeks after their wedding, Kellie said Hans had become a different person.

"I noticed he was slowing down in September," Kellie said. "By October, he was sleeping 15 hours a day, he didn't have any energy at all."

Hans said at the same time, he began having leg cramps and bladder cramps, his legs were swelling and his weight was fluctuating dramatically.

"I could wake up six pounds lighter than I was when I went to sleep or gain 9 pounds throughout the day," Hans said. "My kidney was failing fast, faster than my doctor had ever seen."

By the end of November, it was apparent that Hans would need a transplant very soon and he was referred to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. 

"Before we even got to OSU, his mom had put in a living donor application and I put in an application shortly after," Kellie said. "The goal was to keep him off of dialysis."

Hans said he was fortunate to have family and friends who also put in living donor applications in hopes to speed the process and get a kidney identified for Hans quickly. 

Although, Kellie had the blood type to match Hans there were many other indicators that had to be met in order to make her a match as a kidney donor. 

"I applied to be a living donor because of the paired exchange program," Kellie said. "I thought if I could donate my kidney to someone then Hans could receive a kidney because of my donation."

A kidney paired exchange consists of two or more donor and recipient pairs who are not compatible with each other. Kidney paired exchanges are a major breakthrough in living donations and are revolutionizing living donor transplants by eliminating incompatibility as a barrier to donation and providing a way for recipients and their incompatible donor to be paired with another incompatible recipient and donor.

OSU is one of many hospitals that have their own kidney paired exchanges and arrange within the incompatible pairs at their hospitals. The nature of kidney paired exchanges is that the likelihood of finding a compatible pair is increased when there are many incompatible pairs.

"So, if Hans and I are not compatible I can donate my kidney which would go to someone that I am compatible with and, in turn, Hans would receive a kidney from a donor who matches him," Kellie said. "It's kind of a domino effect."

Despite Hans hesitation about Kellie becoming a part of OSU's paired exchange, Kellie was insistent on doing whatever she could to save her husband's life.

"I'm not really sure how I feel about living donors," Hans said. "My biggest concern with Kellie donating a kidney is what would happen if she donated a good kidney and then later experienced kidney failure herself. What would happen if she couldn't find a donor that could save her - I couldn't live with that."

Miraculously, with just 1 in 100,000 chance of being a match, Kellie's tests matched five of the six tissue antigens - much more than required to be a match for transplant. 

"I really believe that God brought us together because I was carrying the kidney that Hans was going to need," Kellie said. "It was just something I feel God told me from the first date."

On Feb. 16, Kellie and Hans awaited surgery in separate areas of the hospital at OSU. Friends and family gathered around each of them to pray for successful surgeries without complications.

Kellie said she just felt a calmness that the family was puzzled by.

"I told them that I knew God was guiding us and this was what I was suppose to do," Kellie said. "I know that I have lived my life to be his donor."

Just weeks after surgery, Kellie and Hans are still recovering but each showing improvements daily.

"I put jeans on for the first time" just the other day, Kellie said.

Hans will have to take anti-rejection medication for the rest of his life but his dosage is very small due to the high tissue antigens match.

"The better you match your donor the easier the transplant is and the less anti-rejection medication you have to take," Hans said. 

His immune system will be suppressed for the rest of his life which will bring about many lifestyle changes.

"I can't be around anyone who is sick, I wear a mask now when I am out in public," Hans said. "I will have to go back to driving a truck because it is cleaner than working in the field. I can't have my pets."

The transplant has also brought about some financial difficulties for the family of five, including Kellie's three small children. 

"I can't say how fortunate Kellie and I are for our family and friends who have helped us through all of this," Hans said. "They've brought food and helped out every way they could and we are so grateful."

Hans said what he hopes more than anything is to save someone else from experiencing what he has gone through.

"If you have kidney problems, take it seriously," Hans said. "Do your research. Watch for signs that indicate kidney failure. Eat kidney healthy foods, get a renal panel regularly."

cschultz3@gannett.com

740-450-6758

Twitter: @infoobtainer1

Hope for Hans

A spaghetti dinner and silent auction is being sponsored by the

Coburn United Methodist Church, 3618 Maple Avenue, will sponsor a spaghetti dinner and silent auction at 11 a.m., Sunday, April 15. The cost is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6 to 10, and free for those 5 and younger. The Hope for Hans event will benefit the Great Lakes Transplant Fund in honor of Hans Mendenhall.