News
Family Struggles As Father Awaits Kidney Donor
By John Burton
MIDDLETOWN - It's never been an easy life for Bill Fennell, his wife explained.
Kristen Fennell said her husband and his sister were orphaned at an early age and grew up in foster homes. But as a father and husband he has provided a home for his family and had been an exceptionally hard worker, regularly putting in more than 60 hours a week at his job and still finding time for his family.
But that all changed about two years ago, the Fennells explained this week.
Bill Fennell had had difficulty urinating and thought he may have developed a kidney infection. But Kristen, a nurse's aide, became increasingly worried, especially when Bill's complexion became sallow, and he started vomiting, prompting him to go to the hospital.
It was then that Bill was diagnosed with renal failure.
Since then Bill has developed end-stage renal failure, has been undergoing a grueling regimen of kidney dialysis - for five hours, three days a week - and taking nearly 20 pills each day. When he's not at dialysis, he is often too fatigued to do anything other than sleep and rest.
At this point, Bill's only hope lies in finding a suitable kidney donor.
"He's not doing well," Kristen said of her husband. "He's tired; he's sick; he's worn out."
Fennell has a sister, who would be a compatible donor. However, "she has medical issues herself," his wife said.
And, Kristen, whose blood type is AB positive, would not be a suitable donor for Bill, who would need a donor with type A or O blood, she explained.
Bill had been scheduled for transplant, with a coworker as donor. But when the surgery was scheduled, Fennell had retained an inordinate amount of fluids due to the dialysis, worrying the doctors.
The surgery was postponed, Kristen said, and the donor withdrew his offer Now the family hopes and waits.
The major cause for kidney failure is the effects of diabetes, primarily and overwhelmingly, with hypertension (high blood pressure) being the second major factor, according to Dr. Raymond Flis, who specializes in nephrology, the treatment of the kidneys.
"As diabetes has exploded," over the years, Flis said he has seen a marked increase of kidney failure related to the disease.
Fennell suffers from both Type II diabetes and high blood pressure.
Flis said he has seen patients who have endured 20 years on dialysis, with many patients functioning adequately while undergoing the life-sustaining treatments. But for others, "in some cases it can be a tough session," with patients sometimes experiencing a drop in blood pressure, which can cause lightheadedness, muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting. And the patient needs to take care, as two needles have to be placed in the patient's vascular access.
"It's the worst feeling you can imagine," Bill said of his sessions and side effects.
Along with those side effects, Bill and Kristen talked about the toll the disease is taking on Bill - his depression - and on the other members of the family.
Mentally and physically, he's not the same person," Kristen said.
"It's very depressing to feel like that," Bill said, admitting, "I've thought about suicide."
Before his illness, Bill worked for FoodTown supermarket for more than 20 years, but is unable to work at this point. And his wife has had to give up her job to care for her husband. This, they said, has placed a financial burden on the family.
The Fennells live in a small modest home in the section of Middletown that used to be called East Keansburg and then North Middletown. Now their home has a "for sale by owner" sign on the lawn, as they try to sell it before it goes into foreclosure. "I'm afraid we're going to lose the house," Bill said, as the family relies on his Social Security to survive.
"We have to do what we have to do," Kristen said.
Bill is on the waiting list for organ donation. But as Flis and Kristen pointed out, the wait can be three or more years.
Kristen said she would be willing to give one her kidneys and, "I hope somebody has a heart in this world to give him a kidney," she said.
"I'm not afraid to go," Bill offered.
"I'd rather go than live like this, but I worry about them," he said, indicating to his family.
Currently there are approximately between 450,000-500,000 people in the United States with end-stage renal failure on dialysis, according to Flis.
"You can have all the money in the world, the best house," Bill Fennell said. "But if you get a disease like this, it means nothing."
