Ruidoso couple seeks help to save a life via a billboard

July 05--A local man Chris DeBusk, husband to Jennifer, father of four, grandfather of one, is fighting for his life suffering from renal failure. Chris and Jennifer DeBusk have lived in Ruidoso for many years and are reaching out to the community. They meet earlier this year and were soon married as the two fell in love quickly. Chris needs a kidney donor to save his life.

He had no idea there was anything wrong until deciding to switch careers. Working in the oil fields for many years and spending much time apart from his children, he believed he needed to make a career change. He decided to become a local truck driver. One of the requirements for his potential employment was a complete physical workup. When his lab results had come back, his doctor called and told him he needed to come into the office immediately. That is when Chris found out he had renal failure.

Chris' kidneys are functioning at only three percent and is in desperate need of a transplant. There have been two Billboards, that were donated, put up along highways in New Mexico. One in Roswell and the other in Las Cruces hoping this will help them find Chris a much-needed kidney donor. "Once you face this, the possibility of death, for me it strengthened my faith and my love for my family," Chris DeBusk said.

There have been several attempts to find a match, however he has not received a call from the transplant center yet. Once he does, it will still take a very long time before an operation is possible. At one point they had high hopes after being been told that Jennifer, his wife, was a match after discovering they had the same blood type, B+.

However, it wasn't that simple for the couple. Their situation took a turn for the worse in a matter of a single phone call. Jennifer is a cancer survivor and has had a bone marrow transplant. She has been cancer free for over 12 years now.

Once they heard about the test results being a match, Jennifer contacted her nephrologist and received the go. Excited and anxious, the couple quickly called the transplant center ready to finish the rest of the necessary steps to prepare Chris for a kidney transplant. To the couple's disappointment and disbelief, everything came to a complete stand still. The transplant center said no.

Even though she is cancer free, all humans have cancer cells in their bodies. The difference is that some are malignant and some are merely benign. When a person has ever had any type of a malignant cancer they are what is considered to be 'an elevated risk' to the recipient. There only needs to be one cell present in the blood that can potentially transferred during the procedure to threaten the entire operation. Cancer cells can spread when they meet oxygen.

"This is why I cannot be his donor, even though we are a match. When they told me this I was just so very upset and disappointed," Jennifer DeBusk said. If a single cancer cell is transferred to his body, Chris will be placed in fatal danger. Consequently, they had to begin their search for a donor match all over.

Chris is unable to work, and Jennifer only works a few days a week because of the necessary traveling they do. Many times a week, every week, they must go to the Fresenius Medical Care Dialysis center in Alamogordo, New Mexico, for his dialysis.

Their expenditures surpass, and will continue to, their incomes. Chris is now disabled, for the obvious reasons, and Jennifer can only work a few days a week because of all the out of town trips. Chris cannot operate a vehicle because of his grave condition, so Jennifer must drive him to all the appointments they have.

In one week it may mean for the couple to make over three trips to Alamogordo. "I don't want my husband to die. So, we pick each other up and move forward every day. It has just been a roller-coaster ride but Chris has stayed on top of everything. We have a great support system," Jennifer DeBusk said.

The process for finding a matching donor is very lengthy, is often tiresome for the recipient and families, and very costly. Before a recipient can be placed on the wait list, they must undergo many rounds of medical tests. They must be as healthy as possible which constitutes as normal blood pressure as possible, cannot have any type of a cold or flu, no open sores or cuts, strong lungs, and so much more. Transplants are paid by the recipient's insurance however; the recipient must pay for the donor's portion of the procedure.

Requirements for a transplant mean endless amounts of meetings, orientations, more medical screenings, work-up processes, must be approved by the transplant center committee made up of surgeons and nephrologists, nurses, and more. All of this is done out of town as Ruidoso has none of these facilities.

The list appears to be endless of what these two have been going through for months on end and will continue to do until a match is found. The urgency for a donor is critical for Chris, for his life.

Every day that passes, he becomes weaker, lowering his chances of survival or finding a donor. Recently, two potential donors have come forward and are currently being tested. One man (who must remain anonymous) has type O blood, which is universal. "He seems very motivated. He is now in the first stage of testing. If he is a match, we can move onto the next phase of this lengthy process. I am very hopeful this will happen and I am thankful they both came forward to help me," Chris DeBusk said.

Kidney disease has become an epidemic not only in the United States, but globally. High blood pressure, genetics and demographics are all reasons this may occur in the human body and quite often goes undedicated and/or untreated until it becomes a life-threatening issue. "I want people to be aware of these issues and to get the help they need as soon as they possibly can. It is hard to go through dialysis. Everyone at the treatment center is so sick, so very ill. It is hard to see so many people going through this," Chris DeBusk said.

The kidney is a filter for your blood, once it begins working 'over-time', it begins to break down becoming weaker over time. Impurities in the blood then begin to build up in the kidney because it can no longer remove these impurities. Additionally, body fluids begin to rise to dangerous levels when the kidneys lose their filtering functions and abilities. This will cause electrolytes and waste material to accumulate in the body causing renal failure and becomes life-threatening.

According to statistics from the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) failure fatalities, renal failure, are at an all-time high. It Is not necessarily because there are more cases of kidney diseases. The donor (living or cadaver) to recipient ratio is far from balanced, quite the opposite. There a fewer donors than needed. Living donors quite frequently change their mind during the intake' process because they become scared and concerned.

This is especially the case for a potential family member being a living donor, questioning if they are at an elevated risk themselves to have kidney disease in the future because of genetics, and they quite frequently back out. "One of my children was a match, but became sacred because of all the genetic concerns. I understand this and I am not upset with this. I do not want any of my children to go what I have been going through. It is a horrible situation," Chris said. It has been estimated by the National Kidney Foundation that only one in every 100,000 people in need of a donor will find a match.

There may be as many as 140 living donors in a single year, but as the process continues, one-half are ruled out because they are not a match. Then another one-half may turned away from the clinic because of other health issues and are ruled out after test results return. These tests include a cross-match of the donors and recipients. It is mixed together to see if the blood cells will join (mix) together and if there is an antibody reaction. If a reaction occurs, the potential donor is eliminated.

By this time, there are may be 10 qualified donors remaining in the pool that actually become living donors. "There are 11 organs in the human body that can save up to 11 lives. There is a huge need for living donors and the awareness about these needs to be heard. I am not saying this solely because I need a kidney, there are far too many people out there waiting for a donor. Waiting to know if they will live another day as they wait for the phone call that their surgery is scheduled," Chris said.

With the extreme need for a living donor, it is very hard to receive a kidney because of the wait list processes. One must be on a list for quite some time before ever receiving the much-anticipated phone call. Chris has been on a list in Albuquerque and is on a list at the Transplant Institute of San Antonio, Texas.

Deceased (cadaver) transplant is a very different and more arduous process. The kidney must be harvested very quickly after death, within 30 hours or less, and needs to be transplanted very quickly, time and accessibility are high priorities. When Chris and Jennifer do receive a call, they need to be to the transplant center as soon as possible if it is a cadaver kidney. You can see their plight for a living donor, and most patients prefer a living donor because of time constraints, according to the NKF.

The need is extremely urgent for the two and time is at hand. Chris has received so many treatments that the doctors had to remove his Fistula (tubes used intravenously for dialysis) from his arm because of a clot.

A Permcath, a tube that goes into heart through his neck then back out his chest, had to be inserted, so he can continue to receive dialysis treatments. Chris, along with his wife, must travel three times a week, which they have been doing for many months now, to endure a four-hour dialysis session each day. That adds up to a total of 12 hours a week under going this procedure.

It is not an option for him to discontinue treatments with his kidneys only function at three per cent. "I still am so ill and in the middle of treatment. I have so far to go and I am always so tired. There isn't very much I can do anymore. I am always so sick after dialysis," Chris said. If he becomes unable to receive treatments, while his kidneys are functioning at only three percent, there will be nothing any medial professional or facility can do for him. The dialysis treatments are keeping the impurities out of his blood long enough to last about 30 hours before he needs another treatment.

Chris will have many follow up appointments for several more months once he receives a transplant and is released from the hospital after surgery. For the first four weeks he will have two check-ups a week looking for any sign of rejection, infections, or any other complications. For the next two to three weeks, he will have to remain close to the transplant center in case of an emergency.

There are many things that can go wrong after receiving an organ transplant and issues do not always arise directly after a surgery. Therefore, Chris will have to follow up for at least one year after he receives a new kidney. He will also have to receive anti-rejection medication for up to a year as well.

This may seem extreme, but there is so much more to their story. Jennifer is now at risk of losing her health coverage because the two were married. They are seeking help to cover some of the expenses that incur traveling back and forth to doctors and treatment centers. Their need for assistance will increase once a donor has been established. They will have to stay close to the transplant center/hospital after being released five days after the surgery. "We just do not know how we are going to get through all of this. We do the best we can each day. It has been so very hard on us, our family, and our friends," Jennifer DeBusk said.

Their persistence, hope, family and love for one another keeps them going daily. Chris and Jennifer DeBusk aren't asking for a handout, but rather a helping hand. They have been trying to figure out how to start a fund-raising event and do not know where to even begin. Their days are filled with treatments, long trips to multiple doctors, days spent at home recovering from treatments and waiting for the call that will save Chris' life.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) laws prevent any comments from his doctors, treatment centers, nurses or other medical staff on his condition, upcoming procedures, or possible donors.

Chris and Jennifer have asked that if anyone has any advice or questions to contact them at either [email protected], call 575-312-8104 or their Go Fund Me page on Facebook 'kidney for Chris DeBusk.

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