By MICHAEL OLOHAN
Of PASCACK PRESS
RIVER VALE, N.J. — Two “angels from heaven” helped work a miracle for a River Vale resident whose kidneys failed after more than three decades of a chronic disease that left her on dialysis and waiting lists that in some cases last years and years.
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One angel was Barbara Corcoran of TV’s “Shark Tank” and the other, Julie Rabchenuk of Strafford, New Hampshire, responded to Corcoran’s online video that she posted featuring her longtime assistant, Gail Abrahamsen, of River Vale, who was in desperate need of a kidney donor. Abrahamsen has resided in the township for 41 years.
Corcoran has known for Abrahamsen for over 20 years, and when her kidneys began failing, decided to make an appeal on social media for a kidney donor. Abrahamsen had been struggling with renal failure since May, when she started on dialysis three times a week for 3.5 hours per day.
Hundreds responded
Of approximately 100 potential donors who responded to Corcoran’s appeal, Rabchenuk was the only one who stayed the course of tests and exams – leading up to her kidney donation to Abrahamsen on Jan. 4 at Weill-Cornell in New York City.
Abrahamsen said before Corcoran came up with the idea of posting a video online to her millions of followers to seek a “live” donor, she was on a list for a cadaver kidney, which can take up to seven years.
“The two of them. Angels from heaven,” said Abrahamsen, referring to Rabchenuk and Corcoran during a taping of “The Rachael Ray Show” one week after surgery. The episode aired Jan. 29 and featured Rabchenuk, Abrahamsen, and Corcoran, interviewed by Ray.
‘Angels from heaven’
“There’s no way I can repay her. I just want her to be in my life forever,” said Abrahamsen about Rabchenuk on the show.
Abrahamsen, 64, has suffered with polycystic kidney disease for more than 30 years. According to the Mayo Clinic website, the disease causes kidney failure in more than half of people afflicted by age 60.
Polycystic kidney disease “is an inherited disorder in which clusters of cysts develop primarily within your kidneys, causing your kidneys to enlarge and lose function over time,” it states.
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“I was shocked that anyone would give you a kidney,” said Abrahamsen, reached at home Feb. 1. “I didn’t want to get all hyped up about it if it didn’t work out. It was an exciting time, but also a struggling time [with dialysis],” she said.
She said she first met her kidney donor Dec. 19 in the hospital “and she was amazing.” She had received a phone call from Rabchenuk in mid-November to tell her “she was a match and when would I like to have the surgery? It was surreal and I was so happy,” she said.
Abrahamsen said she was released from the hospital five days after surgery and Rabchenuk was released after only two days.
Rabchenuk said she really enjoys talking “every day” with Abrahamsen, who calls her to check in and thank her for giving her a kidney – and life.
“I saw her video and felt really sorry for what she was going through. She’s a mother, a grandmother; I just felt it was the right thing to do. I don’t think I put a lot of thought into it at the time,” she added.
Asked what motivated her to donate a kidney when all the other potential donors gradually fell away, she said, “I would hope that someone would do it for me … it kind of put things in perspective for me. It was just as much a blessing for my life as it was for her,” said Rabchenuk.
Rabchenuk said she feels fine following surgery, and said less than one percent of kidney donors suffer complications. During their television appearance, Corcoran noted that kidney donations from live donors have a 97 percent success rate while kidney donations from cadavers have only a 50 percent success rate.
“It makes you not take things for granted; I’m a lot kinder to people now. My hope is that this will raise some awareness and maybe someone else will make a difference in someone else’s life hearing my story,” Rabchenuk said.
Abrahamsen credited an article she read on the Flood Sisters Kidney Foundation with helping her to reach out and eventually find a “live” donor such as Rabchenuk, who otherwise she may never have found.
She wasn’t thinking about a live donor before she read the article, she said. The foundation is a nonprofit that connects candidates for transplants with live donors. Their website is floodsisterskidneyfnd.org.
In fact, Rabchenuk says she is considering starting her own nonprofit enterprise with proceeds donated to Flood Sisters Foundation.
“I’m putting a lot of thought into it,” she said, noting her new “Shark Tank” friend, Corcoran, is likely to be helpful.
“If I can change one person’s life, it’s just great. This is the most amazing experience I’ve ever had in my life,” said Rabchenuk.
Photos courtesy Gail Abrahamsen
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