ShawneeDispatch.com

Some students return to school from winter break with new clothes, books and gadgets, but Mill Valley High School freshman Betsy Wendorff returned last week with a brand new kidney.

On Dec. 14, Betsy’s older sister, Molly Scaffe, gave one of the best gifts anyone could ask for, one of her kidneys.

In 2008, Betsy was diagnosed with microscopic polyangiitis, a rare autoimmune disease where the body attacks the kidneys.

For the past year, Betsy had been in kidney failure; she spent about 10 hours a day on dialysis. She even had a kidney removed just months before her transplant.

The Wendorff family began the process for the kidney transplant more than a year ago, Betsy said.

When she didn’t respond to steroid treatments, doctors suggested a transplant. Betsy’s mother Elizabeth and Molly proved to be matches.

“The first thought was to give her my kidney and then if later she needed another transplant she could have Molly’s,” Elizabeth said.

However, doctors said the best option was to use the kidney from Molly, since she is younger.

Betsy said preparation for the transplant mostly consisted of mentally preparing herself.

“I kept saying to myself ‘this works for most people, 90 percent of kidney transplants work,’” Betsy said. “It was a lot about staying positive.”

The surgery, which generally takes seven to eight hours, lasted about six hours, Elizabeth said.

“We had family and friends dropping by, that made it easier,” she said. “We knew we were in for the long haul; we had been emotionally preparing ourselves.”

A week after surgery the Wendorff household turned into a recovery facility, with both Molly and Betsy recuperating.

Thankfully, there was help from Betsy’s brother Andrew, who was home from Kansas University for break, and a cousin who came in for two weeks.

Life after the transplant hasn’t changed Betsy too much. She goes to Children’s Mercy twice a week for blood draws to check toxicity levels that show kidney function.

Eventually, she’ll only get tested once a week, then monthly.

Because Betsy isn’t in contact sports she won’t need to worry about damaging her kidney that way.

One of the biggest changes for Besty is having to drink at least three liters of water a day to keep her kidney healthy.

“Technically, a kidney transplant is successful if it is still working after three years,” Elizabeth said.

Betsy said she was excited to get back to school and back on the stage to prepare for Mill Valley’s spring drama productions.

Up until about November, few people at MVHS knew about Betsy’s condition.

In November, the school’s drama department had a showing of “Beauty and the Beast” in Betsy’s honor, raising donations for Children’s Mercy.

“People were fine with it,” she said after word got out. “A few people had questions but no one blew it out of proportion. They were nice.”

This is Betsy’s first year in USD 232; previously she attended Hope Lutheran School in Shawnee.

The Wendorffs are considered a legacy at Hope Lutheran, having a family member attending each year for about 19 years, Betsy said.

The school hosted a pancake breakfast in April to raise funds for the family’s medical bills. More recently, the school donated $8,571.13 to Children’s’ Mercy.

Julie Maag, communications director for Hope Lutheran, said the donation was part of the school’s annual auction.

“It’s a huge deal to help,” she said. “The Wendorff family is such a pillar of our church and our school. They had been a part of our school for so long, they kind of have always been here and involved. And they are still all greatly involved. We thought this was a small token to give back.”

Betsy said it was kind of surprising how people have reached out to her family.

“I was of surprised by the reaction of people,” she said. “I was a freshman from a small private school and didn’t know a lot of people. I will never forget this experience over the last year of my life. If you go through something like this you’re blessed no matter what. It’s incredible how people can be so loving and caring to someone they never met.”

Elizabeth said the family’s faith has been strengthened through the experience.

“When there are people out there you don’t know praying for us and our girls, it strengthens your faith,” she said. “We realized how much care and concern there is in our community for families that struggle because of illness or finances.”

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