Sisters musician Monica Offield receives kidney

Monica Offield, a 2006 graduate of Sisters High School, received a long awaited kidney transplant on Tuesday, April 10. The procedure was carried out at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland.

While at Sisters High School, Offield, a talented singer and songwriter, was actively involved in the Americana Project, performing at more than 50 various venues across the state. She has performed on the main stage at the Sisters Folk Festival three times and is the youngest artist the Sisters Folk Festival has ever hired to perform.

Offield was diagnosed in the spring of 2005 with IgA Nephropathy, a chronic kidney disorder caused by deposits of the protein immunoglobulin A (IgA) inside the glomeruli (filters) within the kidney. Since March of 2006 Offield has been on dialysis three to four times a day.

The Sisters community has rallied to help Monica and her family with fund-raisers and a sustained outpouring of moral support.

Ginger Offield, Monica's mother, reflected on the surgery:

"Although it was a very long day, the surgery went very well. The new kidney worked so well that they connected it to the bladder and took out her (Monica's) dialysis catheter all at the same time."

The actual surgery took about four and a half hours, although Offield went into the operating theater at noon and was not reunited with her family until about 8 p.m.

"Monica was joking with us when we saw her and was in some pain but doing good," Ginger said.

Earlier in the day Offield's donor, Angela Delgado, underwent the procedure to remove her kidney.

Although the pair had exchanged e-mails and chatted online, Delgado and Offield met face-to-face for the first time on Monday, April 9, the day before their surgeries.

Several months ago while visiting her in-laws in Bend, Delgado became aware of Offield's need for a kidney transplant after reading an article in Cascade Arts and Entertainment magazine.

"I recognized the last name," Delgado said, explaining that her husband, Troy, went to school with Offield's two older Sisters.

"Troy would talk about them because he was close with the family when he lived in Sisters," she said. "I just said, 'hey, I want to see if I match,' and I did."

Admitting that she had never before contemplated being an organ donor Delgado said: "I just kind of had a feeling I would match. ... Even my husband was like, 'What are you thinking? You're not going to match; that's crazy.' It just worked out that way."

According to Ginger Offield, none of Monica's immediate or extended family members tested out to be matches and Delgado was approximately the 15th non-family member who was tested as a potential match.

IgA Nephropathy is a disease that tends to progress over a 10- to 20-year period, and statistics show that between 20 and 40 percent of the disease's patients develop end stage kidney failure about 20 years after the disease becomes apparent. In looking back over the years and knowing what she knows today, Ginger Offield feels that Monica has likely suffered from the disease since she was five years old or possibly was even born with it. At that time Monica drank excessive amounts of water.

Monica's family was alerted to her condition in 2005 when Monica became dizzy after Thanksgiving dinner. Concerned that something was wrong with Monica's blood sugar level, Ginger Offield took Monica to the doctor the following Tuesday. Soon, Monica was referred to a nephropathic physician, and her disorder was diagnosed. Her kidneys quickly continued to deteriorate, and Monica was placed on dialysis while awaiting a kidney transplant.

Ginger Offield told The Nugget that even though both insurance and Medicare are paying many of the costs involved with Monica's surgery, the family is incurring extensive expenses, especially for medications and housing in and travel to and from Portland. The monies raised by the Sisters community through the numerous benefits that have been conducted in Monica's behalf are proving a significant help and are appreciated by the family with heartfelt gratitude.

Although Monica's activity level is restricted during her recovery, especially for the next month, much to everyone's joy, she is not restricted from playing her guitar.