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Sharon woman to donate kidney to her ailing brother Transplanting love
By Sean Barron
SHARON, PA.
When Lynda Moss-McDougall learned that her kidney would be a perfect match as a donor organ for her brother, she attributed the rarity to luck and spiritual guidance.
“It was almost like ...hitting the lottery for millions,” Moss-McDougall said, referring to the fact that everything lined up perfectly for her to donate her left kidney to her brother, Joe Moss.
The Sharon resident, who works for the Mercer County Housing Authority, said she and her siblings have always been close and that her older brother has positively impacted many people’s lives. So when she learned that he needed a kidney, she said a lot of prayers and didn’t hesitate to step up to help him.
The transplant surgery is set for Tuesday at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. The family also has set up a GoFundMe online account to help defray costs that insurance won’t cover.
Joe Moss, a former wrestling, cross-country and track coach for Sharon High School, spoke recently from his modest South Oakland Avenue home about the events that led to his kidneys starting to fail about 20 years ago.
Moss, who earned a fine-arts degree from Penn State University in 1974 and plans to return to Sharon High as an instructional aide, recalled that one of his wrestlers accidentally kicked him in the side. He thought little of it until he noticed blood in his urine accompanied by increasing pain where he had been kicked.
“I told my wife, ‘My side’s killing me,’” he remembered.
Soon after, the father of six learned that he had polycystic kidney disease, an inherited disorder in which clusters of noncancerous, water-filled cysts develop mainly around the kidneys. High blood pressure is a common complication, and the condition has no cure.
Over time, PKD decreases the kidneys’ ability to filter impurities. About seven years ago, Moss found out that his kidneys were operating at only 6 percent capacity, he noted.
For a while, part of Moss’ routine has been daily peritoneal dialysis, which he undergoes each night while he sleeps with an automated, computerized device at his home.
In addition, Moss also gets blood drawn monthly to check his potassium, phosphorous, protein and amino-acid counts. He also has to be careful what he eats because eating a banana, for example, could elevate his potassium to an unhealthful level, Moss continued, adding that he has always eaten well and stayed physically fit, including having taken part in bicycle-race competitions.
After his transplant, the daily dialysis will be a thing of the past, though he will still undergo a few months’ worth of blood work, Moss said.
Once he regains his strength, Moss, who also is a sign painter, plans to teach drawing and other art concepts to elementary schoolchildren. When he’s not in the classroom, you might be able to find him delving into another of his passions: restoring classic vehicles, including a 1971 Chevrolet Nova he recently bought, and appearing in area car shows.
“I’ve worked with thousands of kids over the last 16 years,” he said proudly.
Moss, his three siblings and their children come from a close-knit family. Joe and Lynda also share a deep faith in God, another reason Lynda is convinced the surgery will be a success.
“The thing that sticks out in my mind the most is that my brother gets his life back,” she said, fighting back tears. “My brother has done a lot of positive things to affect others’ lives. He’s a blessing for his six kids and two grandchildren and one on the way. He’s full of wisdom and very wise; no one can say anything bad about Mr. Joe.”