News

Reservist's wife battles kidney disease

  • Published
  • By Sandra Pishner
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  A successful life can boil down to simply making all the right connections. For Tammy Aegerter, wife of Tech Sgt. Larry Aegerter, making all the right connections does more than make for a successful life - it is giving her life.

Tammy will undergo her second kidney transplant in May, thanks to a series of connections that matched her to a donor. Tammy suffers from rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis, a disease affecting the kidneys' ability to function at normal capacity, creating the need for a transplant.

"I was diagnosed at age 17, and received my first transplant at 23 with a kidney donated from my brother," said Tammy.

That was 18 years ago.

There's only a four percent chance of finding a match among volunteer donors. So when her disease caused her to get very sick again, Tammy knew finding another kidney would be difficult at best.

The dramatic downturn in her health came shortly after Tammy and Larry welcomed their seventh child into the world in December 2006. For a woman who was told she probably couldn't have children because of her kidney disease, Tammy has taken each pregnancy as a blessing and managed her disease through each of them. This last pregnancy though, proved to be too much for her embattled kidney.

"As she became progressively sicker, all we could do was standby hoping for a donor match," said Larry, a Reservist with the 446th Operations Support Flight, Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Then, the connections started to form.

Larry's stepdad, a staunch Catholic according to Larry, sat next to a pastor on a flight. The pastor invited Larry's stepdad to visit his church. Taking him up on the offer, Larry's stepdad and mom attended a service, where Larry's mom shared the story of Tammy's struggles with her kidney disease.
 
In the congregation of that church was a woman named Michelle, who, upon hearing Tammy's story, just knew it was her calling to help Tammy. What Michelle didn't know when she decided to help, is that Tammy and Larry had already been a help to her family. Volunteer firefighters, Tammy and Larry were among the first responders who assisted Michelle's grandmother during a medical emergency.

"I am so grateful to have met Michelle," said Tammy. "We meet once a week for lunch. Michelle is always saying what we're doing is a blessing to her. But really, her deciding to be my donor is the most selfless thing and I really appreciate her."

Tammy and Larry are hosting a spaghetti dinner April 18, 4 to 8 p.m., at the Browns Point Diner, 6622 East Side Dr NE in Tacoma,to help raise awareness of kidney donation, as well as raise funds to help cover the enormous medical expenses the family of nine faces. If you'd like more information on the issue of kidney donations, or about the dinner April 18, contact the Aegerter family at aegerter57@yahoo.com.