4 kidney transplants and counting

Teresa Rodeback has already outlived three kidneys in addition to her original two.

She’s on her "second lifetime" of kidneys. The second kidney lasted 22 years, while the third only 36 hours. The seventh anniversary of her fourth kidney transplant was Feb. 19.

Her initial thoughts of life after surgery are candid.

“You can get up and pee,” said the Washington, Utah, resident. “It was nice to be exactly human again. Others complain about going to the bathroom — what if you couldn’t go? Be thankful for what you have.”

Rodeback, 59, is humble and grateful for a longer life. She counts her many blessings — such as kidneys from four of her siblings — one by one. Her current kidney came in 2004 from sister Kristie after 18 months of dialysis.

Her first transplant came at 18 after a 1970 accident when a motorcycle handlebar punctured her right kidney. En route to the emergency room, “the doctor had to cut me open in the elevator and told me I’d probably be a vegetable (for life).

“I told him I’d rather be a cucumber,” she deadpanned.

There was trepidation embarking on her emotional roller coaster of transplant surgeries. She asked herself, “‘Why am I doing this?’ I was young and just being unhappy.”

Rodeback had just graduated from Kearns High School and planned to enroll at LDS Business College. After receiving her sister Marjorie’s kidney, she’s successfully navigated three more transplants — and counting.

Rodeback’s brother, Ryan, donated a kidney for her second transplant in 1979. She passed out in a college class and was immediately transported to University of Utah Hospital. In 1995, a hysterectomy cured cervical cancer. “I’ve had it all” in critical illnesses and emotional pain, she said.

Her third kidney was donated about 2001 by another brother, David, and initially did well. About 36 hours after surgery, she became ill.

Her bowel was nicked during surgery, she said, allowing waste to seep into her precious new kidney. “It was horrible,” she said.

She was placed in ICU, and the infected kidney was removed. Later, she returned to dialysis — which she hated — while awaiting another transplant.