A transplant miracle in the making

When properly blended, faith, hope and charity can combine and create a field of positive energy that is palpable in many ways.

Throw in a heavy dose of courage and determination and it becomes a seemingly unstoppable force.

Standing in the middle of that positive wave are Plains resident Sov Valentine, his wife Jessica, and a kind-hearted Plains resident, Krista Standeford.

Together, and with help from a growing host of others in the community, they are confident positive will overcome the negative.

On Sept. 23, Valentine will undergo a surgical procedure that will remove his two disease-ridden kidneys and implant a healthy renal organ donated by Standeford, co-pastor of a local church.

The anticipated outcome will be a dialysis-free return to normalcy for Valentine, who has been battling hereditary kidney disease for nearly two years, and an expected healthy life for Standeford.

Among those helping fuel the tide of energy is Valentine’s sister, Mona Smith, a resident of Snohomish, Washington, who underwent the same procedure 15 years ago that her brother is now facing.

Valentine’s story began in September 2018, when he noticed a sudden decline in his energy level, extreme exhaustion and nausea. He at first thought his desire to seek rest was a matter of him being “lazy.”

“I had noticed a horrible taste in my mouth and I presumed it had to do with the braces on my teeth,” Valentine said. “I was really tired all the time and thought I was just being lazy.”

With the symptoms building in intensity, Valentine eventually went to the emergency department at Clark Fork Valley Hospital, where Jessica had begun work as a physician a few years earlier.

Blood was drawn and a shocking finding emerged. Valentine’s creatinine level, an indicator of renal function, was measured at 16.0, substantially and dangerously higher than the 0.6 to 1.2 range that is considered normal.

In fact, Valentine’s creatinine level indicated acute renal failure. Both of his kidneys were shutting down.

Without functioning kidneys, the body’s ability to filter out potentially harmful waste products from the blood ceases. Untreated, it can be fatal.

“It was a very scary time,” said Dr. Valentine. “Sov obviously needed care to survive. It was helpful that I am a doctor in that I had an understanding of what would be ahead.”

Valentine was quickly transferred to Community Medical Center in Missoula where he became a patient of Dr. Shahid Chaudhary, a nephrologist specializing in such conditions.

“Dr. Chaudhary has been excellent throughout this process,” said Dr. Valentine.

“We have been very thankful he has been part of this.”

Through blood and other renal function tests, it was determined Valentine had a condition known as Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), a genetically inherited disease that produces multiple cysts which in time can cause renal failure.

“Looking back, Dr. Chaudhary said he couldn’t believe how high the level revealed by my creatinine test was,” Valentine said. “He advised immediate dialysis and said otherwise I would go to sleep and never wake up.”

PKD was the same disease that caused his sister, Mona, to require a renal transplant 15 years ago. That procedure was performed at the University of Washington Medical Center, a world-class facility adjacent to the UW campus.

That is where Valentine will have his surgery, with some of the same personnel from his sister’s transplant team being part of his surgical crew.

While at the Missoula hospital, a port, which is a device that connects directly with the blood stream, was installed on the upper portion of Valentine’s chest to allow easy access for the dialysis treatments he would be forced to undergo to save his life. Ultimately, he would need a transplant.

“After getting the first dialysis treatment I felt instantly better,” he said. “I now go

to Missoula three times a week for dialysis and 18 months later I feel good

enough to ride a bike and go for walks.”

However, the dialysis is a temporary fix. By the end of the time between treatments, which are extremely expensive and have been at the center of what had become a prolonged battle with his health insurance company, Valentine said he would become tired and not feel very good.

It was soon decided that a transplant was the way to proceed and the Valentine’s launched a search for a donor.

He began posting his information for his donor need on websites and with organizations that specialize in finding matches for transplant recipients. From the first posting, he said he was stunned by the positive responses from so many people, including thousands of Montanans.

“I was overwhelmed with the responses we got,” he said. “We posted with a Montana website that had more than 70,000 members and soon it was posted on at least 20 different sites. It seemed like every time I went on line there were more and more responses.”

Enter Standeford, who is a co-pastor at the Church on The Move house of worship in Plains. A casual acquaintance with Dr. Valentine, she heard of the need for donor candidates who had A-positive blood type, which she does.

“When it read that, it dawned on me that I am A positive,” Standeford said. “I talked with my husband (also a pastor at the church) and he was very supportive. We had been thinking how we could help Sov, maybe do some fund raising and by other means.”

In the meantime, Standeford went through the testing procedure and found shewas a transplant match for Valentine, whom she had never met. The odds of finding a compatible donor in a town the size of Plains are pretty low to say the least.

Nationwide approximately 100,000 patients a year are on renal transplant lists, with an average wait time of three-to-five years before a match is found.

Statistics show there are an average of 21,000 donors willing to give up a kidney to those who need one. The number of patients in need of the transplant procedure has risen by eight percent over the past year alone.

Standeford said she was pleased to be able to help.

“This process has touched my heart and I know it has touched Sov’s,” she said. “It’s what we are supposed to do. It’s the right thing to do.”

In July of last year, Standeford was notified she was a match following blood tests, radiology exams and other medical testing. She said her family is totally behind her decision to donate and all are pulling for a positive outcome for Sov.

With the transplant date approaching, barring any unexpected setbacks and with special attention to the Covid situation, Sov understandably admits to being nervous but is anxious to get on with the process.

“No doubt there is some nervousness here,” he said. “This represents a huge change but it is the thing to do. I don’t want to be on dialysis the rest of my life. I want to get better and move forward”.

Valentine is quick to credit the tremendous amount of love and encouragement he has received along the way.

“I could not have had a better support group than what I have,” he said. “I feel very blessed. I was trying to imagine who a potential donor might be. Right after I met with Krista it felt like I had known her my whole life. This has become much more than a medical condition. It has become spiritual.”

Following the surgery, Valentine will most likely spend five days in the hospital, then remain in the Seattle area for a month to allow daily checkups and other medical care he may need. He will be given several medications, including anti-rejection drugs to make sure his system accepts the new kidney.

For Standeford, she will be hospitalized for three days and then need to stay in the area for daily care for approximately 15 days.

His sister is among the positive supporters helping Sov, and she speaks from experience.

“The disease changed my life,” she said. “I was working in medical billing and coding and had to give that up because it was affecting my ability to do my job well. And because it was something my father also dealt with before he died, I opted to not have children so it wouldn’t be passed on.

“After all those months on dialysis I felt immediate relief,” she said. “It was amazing during those times how many people I didn’t even know stepped forward to offer to donate. The transplant is not a cure, it is a treatment but I know Sov will do really well. He has some great people around him.”

With a strong inner circle of support and a community of Montanans pulling for him, Sov Valentine has reason to be optimistic.

The “force” is with him.