Among the 16,829 Americans who underwent a kidney transplant last year is a shy teen with ties to Delmar. And her large, loving family has an even closer bond these days. That's because 14 year old Bridgette Eichhorn's life was saved by her doting uncle, Paul Harrigan.
Paul says, "just a strong voice within me said it' s your kidney and everything's gonna be okay."
Yes, Paul donated one of his kidney's to Bridgette.
Last July Bridgette's skin appeared mottled and the normally active teen was tired. Her mom, Megan, who's a nurse, took her for a physical exam. The results catapulted the family in an unseen direction. "They said that se was in renal failure" says Megan. Turns out, Bridgette had urine reflux that went undetected for years, destroying her kidney function.
"The urine is going back up into the bladder" says Megan, "and then it's going right back down into the kidneys."
Although the family lives in Vermont, their relatives are in Delmar, so Bridgette was rushed to Albany Med and immediately put on dialysis.
Without hesitation family and friends lined up to donate a kidney. But it was Uncle Paul, Megan's sister's husband, a father of 5 who was the best match
"It's not that big of a deal, the operation that is, at least I didn't find it to be so" says Harrigan.
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