GIVING THE GIFT OF LIFE

Norman Croucher looks over medical paperwork. ().

Saw filer gives

his brother a kidney

for Christmas

By T.L. Petersen

Observer Staff Writer

ELGIN — Up until a few months ago, 45-year-old Norman Croucher Jr. of Elgin was working on conditioning himself for the annual high school alumni game.

He admits many of his co-workers at the

La Grande Boise mill, where he works as a saw filer, thought he was crazy.

Now, though, Croucher admits his football days are behind him — not because of his age but because of his Christmas gift to his brother, Alan, 40.

Croucher's gift was his right kidney.

Wearing a sweatshirt with the motto of the Oregon Donor Program — "Got 2 Give 1!" — Croucher doesn't really see what he did as something out of the ordinary for him, but a part of his Christian beliefs.

"I was privileged to do this,'' he said. "That's how I look at this. God allowed me to be part of His miracle."

Croucher has known since he was 27 that he was missed by the deadly genetic blip in his family.

Through his mother's side of the family, he and his siblings stood a 50 percent chance of developing polycystic kidneys, a condition in which cysts develop on and in the kidney tissues, eventually shutting down the organs' functioning.

Eueva Croucher, Norman's mother, has the condition as do three of her eight siblings and is undergoing dialysis three times a week, travelling to the dialysis center from her McMinnville home.

Alan developed the condition years ago, and so has his 44-year-old sister.

A genetic test in his 20s proved that Norman wasn't going to have to deal with the problem. And if he wasn't, neither were his two daughters.

Croucher said his family knew about the condition that would destroy their kidneys, but didn't focus on it. His mother, he said, wouldn't even consider a transplant from her son, knowing her other children would face the same situation.

Alan's condition worsened first, until he had only 12 percent kidney function, and Norman's sister has already had several friends step forward, willing to be tested and willing to donate a kidney for her.

So last July, Croucher began the tests that would determine if he could donate a kidney to his brother.

He gave vials of blood for doctors to check six different genetic markers, and underwent the most complete physical exam of his life.

"Three genetic markers the same is needed for a match," Croucher said. "We matched all six, a 100 percent match."

Croucher chuckles with both happiness and sadness. Except for the faulty kidney gene, he said, doctors told him that he and Alan were virtually identical.

That means, in the long view, that Croucher's kidney may do so well in Alan's body that only a minimal amount of anti-rejection drugs will be needed and Alan could go along with Norman's kidney for another 30 years.

The transplant was originally scheduled for Oct. 29 at Oregon Health & Science University, but Alan, youth minister at Harrisburg Christian Church, had to have an appendectomy late in the summer and the transplant was delayed.

When it came time to reschedule, the brothers both said that Dec. 24 was fine by them.

"It was fitting," Croucher said, "almost like it was ordained that we do it the day before Christ's birth."

And the brothers agreed to share a room at OHSU — somewhat unusual for transplant operations.

But Croucher saw it as a chance to have another joke with his brother — donors, he explained, generally suffer more from the surgery than the recipient.

"I wanted him to have to hear me groan," Croucher said, grinning.

Alan's new kidney began working as soon as it was connected in his body. He was released from the hospital after five days.

Norman had a complication caused by all the organs that had to be moved aside to reach his healthy kidney, but was released after six days.

"I'm not comfortable as I sit here," he said, explaining that his days are spent alternating between sitting and taking walks as the incision that goes from his stomach to his mid-back heals.

He won't be able to return to work for 12 weeks — normally, the recovery is six weeks but because of the manual work Croucher does the recovery was extended — and he won't be permitted to drive for about a month. He jokes that he created lots of household messes before the transplant so he has plenty to do now while recovering.

Croucher's last post-transplant doctor's appointment was Jan. 7 and from now on doctors simply want him to get at least bi-annual complete physicals. He's already stopped taking most of the heavy-duty pain medication.

"I just have to do the stuff you should do when you're over 40, anyway," he says.

Croucher qualified for family medical leave and has some vacation time saved in case he needs more time than 12 weeks. His medical costs were paid through his brother's insurance.

"I should be back at 100 percent," Croucher said, "and able to do all I expect to do."

The entire experience hasn't changed any of his attitudes, he says. He wishes he could give his sister a new kidney, too. His family fully supported the decision, and no one has any regrets.

Croucher grins again as he explains about the alumni football game.

"I do have to be careful. I only have one kidney, after all." The doctors didn't exactly tell him not to participate, but they recommended against it.

At 45, Croucher figures he'll take their advice.

To learn more about organ and tissue donation, contact the Oregon Donor Program, P.O. Box 532, Portland 97207, or call toll-free 800-452-1369

Reach T.L. Petersen at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it