Listeners in Milwaukee are already familiar with Elizabeth Kay, one half of the Elizabeth & Radar morning show on Audacy station 99.1 The Mix. She’s told many stories on the airwaves over the past decades, but her recent journey may be her most inspiring yet and could save lives.
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It all started around Christmas 2019 when she found out her mother-in-law was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney failure. Kay’s mother-in-law, Camille Hamme, has had kidney problems since birth and has lived most of her life with stage 2 kidney disease. However, things accelerated with her 2019 diagnosis.
Kay said over 100 people have since come forward and applied to be a donor ever since they found out Hamme would require a kidney transplant. “She is an AMAZING person who always gives to others,” Kay said.
Kay and her husband Eric were then screened to see if they could serve as a donor. Both of them passed the first evaluations and moved on to the next stages where they would find out if they were a match.
A few days later, Elizabeth came back on the air with an update. Her husband wouldn’t be able to donate a kidney due to his family’s medical history, but Kay had passed the first round of approval as the nurse told her her kidney “was ripe for transplant.”
While the road to being approved for a kidney donation was long, an important first hurdle had been cleared. Kay still had to undergo further testing, but was hopeful she would find out by Christmas 2020 whether she could be a donor.
Then, Christmas came. The results from Kay’s tests came in and the path forward was made clear. She was given the green light to be a kidney donor.
While Kay was not able to match as a donor for her mother-in-law, she found out some great news from her transplant team at UW-Health. Through the Paired Kidney Exchange (PKE) program, Kay would be able to give her kidney to someone in exchange for her mother-in-law to get a kidney donation.
“So by me giving a kidney to a stranger, who I am a better match for, my mother in-law will also get a better kidney for her!” She wrote when sharing the news.
When it came time to share the news with her mother-in-law, Kay had a brilliant idea. She had given Hamme a gift, which was the last present to be opened, and it contained a single kidney bean in a box. Kay then explained the PKE program and told her mother-in-law she would be able to receive a new kidney. Overcome with emotion, it made for a “Christmas that we will never forget.”
WATCH MORE: Elizabeth Kay tells her mother-in-law that she's getting a kidney
After receiving the news, Kay and her mother-in-law still had to wait for their matches. Early in March, they got an update they’d been waiting a long time for. Their matches were found.
“We are overjoyed, relieved and most importantly we are grateful!” Kay shared in a blog post announcing her update.
Both Kay and her mother-in-law were scheduled to have their surgeries at the end of March.
While Kay was on the air on March 25, she revealed that Hamme was in surgery receiving her new kidney donation. “We’re kind of like a ball of nerves in the studio right now, there’s a lot going on,” Kay said.
The next day, Kay took to the airwaves and announced that her mother-in-law’s surgery was successful! Kay said Hamme is “doing great and feels amazing” adding that “the kidney started working right away.”
“We are so, so grateful!” Kay added. “Thank you for all of your prayers and messages. We feel them and they mean so much.”
Kay was set to go into surgery for her kidney donation on Tuesday, March 30 and decided to give Radar a call to check in from the hospital.
She estimated that the surgery would take about three and a half hours. “When they remove the kidney, they’re going to put a little GPS tracking device on it. Then it goes right away to a helicopter that takes it to the local airport out here in Madison and then they send it down to my recipient in Kentucky where he or she is being prepped really at the same time while I’m having my surgery so that the timing is just right for them to get the kidney transplanted and sewn into that person.”
“It’s all going to happen the same day,” she added. While details about the recipient of her kidney are not known, Kay did include a letter about her desire to hear their story as long as they are willing and an offer to connect in the future.
March 31, the day after surgery. Kay once again called into Radar’s show to give an update.
“Feeling a little groggy, but much better,” she said. “I pretty much spent all day sleeping yesterday and it felt amazing getting that much sleeping, I’m not going to lie.”
The medical team told Kay she was a “rock star” and they took a picture of her kidney to give to her. “I feel great and I’m so glad I did this,” she added.
“I get why people say if they could do it again, they would. I was just so excited that I was able to give a kidney to somebody. Now that person in Kentucky has my kidney and I’m thinking about them and hoping that their healing and their recovery is going well, but, today’s goal is to walk. That’s what I’m working on today.”
“Everybody that’s listening, I can’t thank everybody enough for the prayers and support. It means so much for my family,” she added.
It’s a truly incredible story and one that Kay hopes will inspire many to become involved.
“If you are inspired by our story and you want to get involved or maybe you want to be a living organ donor - just visit donatelifewisconsin.org,” she says.
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