A Hero In Our Midst
Barbara (Odyssey) Originally published March 2004Kari Mitchell, office manager at Odyssey Charter School, donated one of her kidneys Friday, October 31, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to her brother-in-law, Cedric Cobb. This has been a three-year process for Kari and her family.
There were several times over the three years that Kari came close to donating the kidney, but because of her brother-in-law’s health the surgery was put off. Cedric has been on dialysis for five years. Kari left on October 22 for the Mayo Clinic with a 95% chance that the surgery would proceed the next day. Cedric’s antibodies to Kari’s blood were too high on Wednesday, so the surgery was delayed for a week while her brother-in-law received treatment to lower the antibodies.
The surgery went as planned on Halloween Day and was successful. Kari, who has been walking four miles each morning, reports that her kidney is already functioning for Cedric. “He looks so much better because the swelling in his face has gone down. He has bladder function for the
first time in years,” she said. At Odyssey Charter School we applaud Kari for the selfless act of donating one of her own kidneys to help another. Kari, thank you for being a role model for everyone here at Odyssey Charter School.