Correctional officer Miguel Mejinez continues to work more than 60 hours a week even though one of his doctors told him he could go on permanent disability due to kidney failure. “That’s not me,” he said. He’s been on dialysis for two years. For four hours at a time, three days a week, he gets dialysis treatment at the Kaweah Delta Dialysis Center in Porterville. That’s a lot of time considering he has sole custody of his five children, ages 6-18. Mejinez, 41, said he stays as positive as he can. “I’m blessed because the teenagers help out,” he said. His girlfriend, Camille Prince, helps out, too, he said. She’s been getting the word out that he needs a kidney to prolong his life. Mejinez is on a waiting list for a kidney that could last 6-10 years. With the rare blood type, O-negative, his donor pool is smaller than most. And his family members can’t donate a kidney because Type 1 Diabetes runs in his family, he said. The donor has to have his blood type, he said. A donated kidney can come from a deceased or living donor. For living donors, any healthy person can safely donate a kidney, according to the University of California website ucsfhealth.org . Each person has two kidneys. When one is removed, the other takes over. Medical costs for the donor are usually paid by the recipient’s health insurance, however travel expenses are not. Potential living donors undergo an evaluation and tests to measure compatibility with the patient. At UCSF, a laproscopic procedure is used to remove a kidney from a living donor. Using small incisions and a scope or camera to remove the kidney ensures a quicker recovery and fewer complications. Hospitalizations for donors are typically two to three days and kidney donors usually return to work three to four weeks after surgery. More than 850 of the these procedures have been performed at UCSF since 1999. Anyone interested in becoming a donor for Mejinez should contact his girlfriend, Camille Prince, at 853-8092. Mejinez works at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran where he’s been since 2009. Before that, he worked at a prison in the Imperial Valley for a total of 10 years served in corrections. “As long as I can keep walking I’m going to keep on working to take care of my family,” he said.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 13:51:48 +0000
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