Why Not Me?
Transplant recipient doesn't question God's plan for him
By Diana Royal dianar@thetruecitizen.com

Lucious Abrams

Cautious footsteps and a hearty, "I'm coming," precede the big man in Dale Earnhardt Jr. pajama pants. If not for the "wound VAC" at his side, no one would ever know he'd just had a kidney transplant.

The small bag rests at Lucious Abrams' thigh, making occasional gurgles as it drains fluids from the open wound of his recent surgery.

"I'm healing from the inside out now," he explains, placing a hand atop his knee.

He's a man of many hats - county commissioner, farmer, businessman, family man - but sitting on his couch on this breezy day in April, he's first and foremost a man of faith.

Lucious candidly recounts his days of dialysis: three days a week, four hours and 45 minutes each time.

For four years he managed the schedule, which grew to feel like a job in itself while depleting what energy he could muster.

"I got stuck twice every time, and I'm talking about those big needles," he says, gesturing the length with his hands. "But never once did I have one bad, ill feeling. I knew that whatever I had to go through, God was going to help me. Whatever fate I was faced with, God was going to give me strength."

That God-empowered strength is what got Lucious through the months following his transplant.

He'd already had a few false hopes when when potential matches for a kidney fell through. Once that prayer was finally answered this past February, he was barely home before he found himself lying in a hospital bed again. Several weeks and a number of trips to the hospital later, he received a good bill of health this past Friday.

"The doctors tickled me, saying I always had a smile on my face," he quips. "I told them, 'Don't feel bad for putting me in the hospital. I am willing to stay for however long I need to so you can do what you have to do.'"

His ability to persevere was further tested when his brother, Marvin, lost his battle with cancer less than a month after the transplant surgery - and Lucious had to miss the funeral.

"I know God makes no mistakes," he says. "When my brother died I didn't ask God, 'Why him?' I said, 'Why not him?'"

While he says he's been on "absolute lockdown," Lucious knows that'll change as soon as the doctors give him the goahead.

"It'll be business as usual," he laughs, excited about the upcoming qualifications and campaigning for the county commission.

He's also looking to serve as a patient advocate on the transplant floor at MCGHealth, where, if selected, he'll offer ideas to doctors and administrators to help them better serve their patients. "They asked me to apply," he says, adding that he loves to talk and will "come out with it" if chosen.

One of his goals now is to educate people about the importance of being an organ donor. "You have the ability to give others a better quality of life," he says. "I didn't understand it until I went through it myself. My kidney was bad, but my eyes, heart, everything else was perfect ... now, I'm a donor, too."

More cautious footsteps follow when Lucious makes his way outside, letting the sun splash over him as he takes in the scene. "Heaven on earth," he says quietly.

As he makes his way around his yard, dipping in and out the shadows, commenting on the peacefulness the dogwoods and wheat fields bring, he says he's blessed to have his lovely wife, family and friends and a doctor and nurses who helped him gain a new lease on life.

"Sometimes things come easy, and sometimes they don't," he says, recalling how he hasn't taken his situation lightly. "When you have faith, why worry? God sends you to certain places for a reason … I never once asked, 'Why me?' I said, 'Why not?'"

DID YOU KNOW?

• The month of April is National Donate Life Month. • Nearly 100,000 people are in need of life-saving organ transplants, 2,000 being Georgians. • An average of 18 people die each day due to a lack of organ availability. • Last year, more than 8,000 deceased donors made it possible to provide more than 22,000 organ transplants. There were nearly 7,000 transplants from living donors.

To learn more about organ and

tissue transplants or to find out

how to become a donor, visit the

Web site www.donatelife.net or

contact Georgia LifeLink at

1(800) 544-6667.