Advertisement Harris, 51, assistant director of multicultural student services at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, received a kidney Aug. 6 from his friend Marilyn Levin at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
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I wrote a story about the transplant because the donor and recipient joined hands for a few years in La Crosse to work on social justice and racial issues as members of the Mayor’s Anti-Racism Task Force. They got to know each other and became friends.
So when Harris needed a kidney, the 47-year-old Levin stepped forward after Harris’ family members were found not to be compatible donors.
“The transplant went real well,” Harris said. “I feel real good. I have more energy, my eyes are brighter, my skin tone is more in sync, and I can do stuff easier.
“I can see and feel the changes,” he said. “I’m very thankful. The transplant was a real positive experience. I’m now writing a lot of thank-you notes.”
Thomas was hospitalized for five days and then recovered in Mayo’s Gift of Life House. He returned Aug. 29 to La Crosse and has been recovering at home.
Levin said the surgery went well for her, too.
“I’m back doing cartwheels and rollerblading,” Levin said. “The hardest part for me was right after surgery. I was incredibly nauseous and exhausted.
“But it wasn’t bad,” she said. “I healed very quickly, and people have been great and supportive. I never had any doubts that this was the right thing to do.”
She was hospitalized for 2-1/2 days.
Levin and Harris also reached their goal of raising $20,000 to help with medical expenses.
Harris is president of the new 7 Rivers Diversity Collaboration and organized the regional Martin Luther King Day celebration. Levin, who now lives in Texas, is a former La Crosse YWCA social justice director and now is a full-time speaker, trainer and activist in social justice issues.
“We have been specially bonded with our causes,” Levin said. “He’s a great man and is making a big difference in the world, and we want him active and around for a long time.”
Harris was diagnosed with kidney disease in the mid-1990s and was placed on a kidney transplant list in 2003. His son and sister were not good donor matches.
He said he wouldn’t be back to his old self if it hadn’t been for Levin.
“The bottom line is she prolonged and saved my life,” he said.
This story is a testament to how one person can make a difference in another’s life. Just before his transplant surgery, Harris was close to going on dialysis.
From time to time, I use this column for a followup on one of my health stories.
If there’s someone you would like to see an update on, contact me at trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com.
