[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 7, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNIZING THE GENEROSITY OF A LIVING ORGAN DONOR

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                             HON. KEN LUCAS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 7, 2001

  Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today to 
recognize Lisa Cooney of Park Hills, Kentucky. On January 11th of this 
year, Lisa generously donated one of her kidneys to Andy Thelen, a 
resident of Lakeside Park, Kentucky.
  Andy was born twenty-eight years ago with one polycystic kidney and 
one underdeveloped kidney. At the time, the doctor told his parents he 
wouldn't live more than a month. Andy defied the odds from day one 
receiving a kidney transplant at eighteen months from another eighteen-
month-old baby in California who had died in an accident. That kidney 
allowed him to lead a relatively normal life for twenty-six years. But 
when that kidney began to fail, Andy and his family embarked on a race 
against time to find another kidney donor.
  Everyone in Andy's family was tested, but no one was a suitable 
donor. As Andy's name languished on a transplant list for a year and a 
half, his mother summed up her despair when she said, ``How do you turn 
to somebody else and say, `Will you give up part of yourself and your 
life for my son?' ''
  And then one day two years ago, Andy met Lisa Cooney through his 
sister-in-law. After they met, Lisa felt compelled to get tested to see 
if she might be a suitable donor--and miraculously, she was. Two months 
after their surgery, I am pleased to say that both Lisa Cooney and Andy 
Thelen are doing well. Andy returned to work on March 5th and reports 
that he is feeling great.
  As a news anchor for WLWT Eyewitness News 5 in Cincinnati, Lisa has a 
unique opportunity to raise the public's awareness of the urgent need 
for organ donors. In addition, Lisa and Andy's experience serves to 
highlight the advances in transplant technology that enabled Andy to 
receive a kidney from a living donor.
  I rise today to commend Lisa Cooney. Her courage and compassion 
should serve as an inspiration to us all. I ask my colleagues to join 
me in wishing both Lisa Cooney and Andy Thelen a long and healthy life.

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