A Springfield priest experiencing renal failure is receiving a new kidney from a donor living in North Carolina, who he has never met.
Antoinette “Nettie” Pinell said it is her Christian faith that is motivating her to give a part of herself to Father Andy Hook, who has led the congregation of Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 815 Second St., for 10 years.
“The two greatest commandments of the Christian faith, as told to us by Jesus, are: Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. He basically said that sums up everything else you’re going to read in the Bible,” Pinell said. “Love your neighbor has always really been a big part of how I live out my faith, whether that neighbor is my literal person next door or whether it’s someone across an ocean.”
In the case of Rev. Hook, it’s someone several states away.
Hook, 44, started experiencing an autoimmune disorder a few years ago in which his immune system was attacking certain proteins within his body.
“So, the white blood cells were doing their job and destroying the ‘invaders’ and flushing them into the kidneys, which normally would just pass through urination,” he said. “But there were so many in the kidneys that the kidneys couldn’t keep up. It overwhelmed them and eventually they died.”
For the past 18 months, Hook has been receiving kidney dialysis and he was added to the national transplant waitlist. However, 12 people in the U.S. die every day while waiting for a kidney from a deceased donor, so transplant candidates are encouraged to seek out living donors. In addition, kidneys from living donors typically last longer – an average of 15 to 20 years, as opposed to seven to 10 years for a kidney from a deceased donor – and recipients are more likely to have better outcomes, according to the National Kidney Foundation.
“I don’t like to draw attention to myself, even though I’m a priest and I’m up in front of everybody all the time. So, I didn’t do much with it,” Hood said. “And finally, I decided to put on Facebook that I needed a kidney. I put my blood type and explained the situation. It’s amazing. People shared it and it went everywhere, and many people contacted me and wanted to give me a kidney, which was great.”
Of course, donating an organ is not a simple task. Physicians must determine whether potential donors are healthy enough to live with one kidney and whether they are a good match for the recipient.
“It’s based on so many different factors,” Pinell said. “Because my husband’s family is from Nicaragua, originally, and we have traveled to Central America to see family, I had to get all sorts of tests to make sure I’d never had malaria or dengue (fever) or anything like that.”
Pinell’s husband, Daniel, is an Episcopalian priest in Wilson, North Carolina, who has met Hook through their shared profession.
“The first that I heard of Andy being in kidney failure was when he posted something on Facebook last spring about needing a kidney and urging people to consider being living donors, whether or not they could help him,” Pinell said. “It really captured my attention because my brother’s life was saved by a heart transplant 20 years ago. And so, I just felt compelled to pass along the gratitude for that gift.”
Their hope is that the transplant will take place next month at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
Hook said the loss of his health has been part of his own spiritual journey.
“(It) has really been a strain for my faith. I’ve had to really dig deep down and look to the core foundation of my faith. It’s easy to believe in God and in Jesus when things are going well. But when things aren’t going well, and when you’re lying in the bed in pain, when you have no energy, that’s difficult.
“There have been times when the Lord and I have had some heated conversations. And we’re definitely not of the same mind on this whole thing. But I have to remember that God did not bring me this far to abandon me. Jesus did not die on the cross to abandon me. And so, my faith has become much deeper and much broader than it was before,” Hook said.
Pinell, 40, and her husband have four children, a 7-year-old, 5-year-old and twin 3-year-olds.
“The twins don’t understand much at this point. We talked to the 7- and 5-year-old and said that Father Andy’s kidneys don’t work anymore, and Mom’s do, and I’m healthy enough to only need one, so I can give one to him.
“And they’re very fascinated. My 5-year-old is very concerned that Father Andy will get sick and pass if he doesn’t get the kidney in time. Death is a hard concept for a child that age. So, he’s very afraid that I won’t get the kidney to him in time. My 7-year-old is fascinated by how all of this works. … Their other big concern is that Father Andy has not peed in a year. … So, they’re very interested to see how Mom’s kidney is going to help him pee again.”
Scott Reeder, a staff writer for Illinois Times, can be reached at sreeder@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Adams Street at a crossroads.
