Siblings take sharing to new level

Jamestown woman gives her brother a kidney

Carrie Couch is pictured here with her brother, Jon Gerlach, after running a 5k together in March in Fayette.
Carrie Couch is pictured here with her brother, Jon Gerlach, after running a 5k together in March in Fayette.

JAMESTOWN — Carrie Couch is back running 5Ks and Chris Gerlach is hunting mushrooms this spring.

That wouldn’t be unusual, except in April 2015, Gerlach was told his only kidney was operating at 9 percent. His sister, Couch, gave one of her kidneys to him in December.

Gerlach said he simply didn’t feel well and had high blood sugar when he sought a second-opinion from the University of Missouri Hospital, after being sent home from another Mid-Missouri emergency room.

Immediately, Gerlach, 46, was admitted for temporary dialysis — without it he may have only had weeks to live.

For the next several weeks, Gerlach traveled three times a week for dialysis while his sister considered donating her kidney.

Couch, 42, was born with two, her brother only one.

The process of becoming a donor was long, deliberate and separate from her brother’s healthcare, to avoid bias, she said.

“It went slower than I thought it would,” she said. “But they don’t want to rush the process.

“They really want people to be sure that’s what they want to do.”

By December, Gerlach had lost 40 pounds and faced other complications from eight months of dialysis.

The siblings waited together the morning of their surgery — neither had undergone major surgery before.

“It was a lot worse than I expected,” said Couch, who had to have a blood transfusion a few days later.

Gerlach, on the other hand, “felt like I was 25; it was unreal. I felt so much better; there’s no comparison.”

From a tight-knit Jamestown family, they had good support when they returned home to recuperate. What they did not expect was the outpouring of cards, meals and compassion from their greater community.

In June 2015, the community also supported Gerlach and his family — wife Laura and their 4 children — with a pork steak dinner fundraiser.

“I don’t know if that would happen in a larger town,” Couch said. “To me, that’s a big deal.”

The cards and gifts while recovering at home made a big difference, she said. “When you’re at home recuperating from surgery, it’s a big deal to get a card in the mail,” she said. “People are thinking about you.”

Gerlach said he was also surprised at how much Couch’s church, New Hope Baptist, did for him.

“People mean well when they say ‘let me know if you need anything,’” Couch said. “But nobody really says something (back).

“I have a better understanding of just acting, doing something … and what it means to go through surgery.”

As director of the consumer affairs division at the Missouri Department of Insurance, Couch took six weeks off to recuperate.

Gerlach, however, can never return to his outdoor construction work. The anti-rejection medicine lowers his immune system, making him 700 times more likely to get skin cancer.

He said he has found a Facebook group of kidney transplant donors and recipients, which has helped answer many of his questions and concerns.

And Couch has gained a greater appreciation for the donor registry.

“There are people who do this for complete strangers,” she said admiringly.