Woman loses kidneys

[Guest guest]

Kidney problems plague woman

Transplants planned after their removal

Schmidt Leader-Telegram Staff

Wangen

A fund to help offset Wangen's medical bills is expected to be

set up this week. For now, donations can be sent to: Wangen

Trust, c/o Terry and Annette Schoenberg, W13315 Mud Lake Road, New

Auburn, WI 54757.

After struggling for 10 months with renal failure and a string of

other medical problems, Wangen's chronically infected kidneys

have had all they can handle.Both will be removed Tuesday at

Methodist Hospital in Rochester, Minn.The 23-year-old Rusk County

woman has lost function of her kidneys to repeated fungal and E. coli

bacterial infections.Undergoing surgery is the first step toward a

permanent solution. All traces of infection must be eradicated before

a desperately needed organ transplant can take place, doctors

said. " It's been quite an ordeal, " said Wangen's mother, Annette

Schoenberg. " I just focus on the end. That's the only thing I can do,

and that's what I'm driving toward. It's all going to end up

fine. " Although Wangen's case is rare and complicated, the bottom line

is that she needs a kidney and pancreatic transplant to get her back

on the road to recovery, said Dr. Jr., Wangen's Luther

Midelfort nephrologist. " has a lot of medical problems. I think

the transplant is what she needs to regain her full measure of well

being, " said , who has been treating the woman since April.

said he does not have another patient with an equal degree of

problems.Wangen is expected to undergo a kidney transplant in four to

six weeks. Friends and family members -- including Schoenberg and her

husband, Terry -- are being tested as potential donors. said

the average wait time for a kidney transplant from unrelated donors

is more than three years.After six weeks of recovery, Wangen will be

placed on a waiting list for a pancreas. When one becomes available,

in possibly a year or more, she will undergo that transplant and

another six weeks of recovery.Wangen's problems began in spring 2000,

when the 1996 Fall Creek graduate began having nagging backaches.

Neither ibuprofen nor heating pads helped, and her lower back pain

got steadily worse.Eventually the pain became unbearable, and by

spring she could no longer walk unaided. Little did her family know

kidney failure was the cause.It wasn't until last April that Wangen

was taken to Luther Hospital's emergency room, where she was

diagnosed with renal failure. Wangen underwent emergency surgery at

the hospital to place a catheter in her chest for immediate dialysis.

Once her condition was no longer critical, doctors found her kidneys

and bladder were filled with yeast fungus, which had spread

throughout her blood.To make matters worse, the renal failure also

triggered the onset of migraine headaches and brought about diabetic

problems.Beginning in April Wangen underwent six weeks of dialysis at

Luther Hospital and was taking intravenous penicillin and anti-fungal

medications. But her problems refused to let up. Wangen was in and

out of hospitals in Eau and Rochester all summer for E. coli,

urinary tract and bladder infections, in addition to complications

from Type 1 diabetes. Wangen, who concedes having a degree of

nervousness going into Tuesday's surgery, said she looks forward to

putting her medical problems behind. " Things just keep going wrong,

and I'm just kind of tired, " she said, adding the past few months

have been particularly trying.The clerk-typist for the Barron County

district attorney's office has been off work since September, and she

has worked only sporadically since April.Schoenberg, who lives in the

unincorporated community of Island Lake, 20 miles north of Bloomer,

said she hopes her daughter's recovery from surgery and eventual

transplants will help her get back to the job she enjoys so

much. Cornelius, a legal secretary who works with Wangen at the

district attorney's office, headed up a fund-raiser for her co-worker

last fall that raised $1,700 in a week. " We care a lot about her, "

said Cornelius, who calls to check up on her friend once a week.

Cornelius said her thoughts and prayers are with Wangen as Tuesday's

surgery approaches. " We wish her all the best and can't wait to see

her back at work, " she said.Schoenberg and her daughter left for

Rochester at 4:30 a.m. today.Although Schoenberg said she knows risks

are involved in any type of major surgery, she is confident all will

go well. " I'm a big believer in the power of positive thinking, " she

said. " Right now I cannot picture my life in the future without her.

That leads me to believe that things are going to be OK. " Wangen

shares her mother's optimism. " I just keep trying to keep looking to

the end, " the young woman said. " You just have to keep going. "