Local Mom Gives Kidney to Young Friend

Many people who know Laurie Bapp agree that she would give her right arm, and probably a whole lot more, for 8-year-old Allison Gibbons.

"Stop moving for a minute," Lisa Gibbons says as she brushes her daughter's hair away from her face. It's a lost cause. Within minutes, the 8-year-old's hair is free-flowing as the youngster bounds across the room, throwing Velcro balls onto a large plush bull's-eye hanging on the wall. Cartoons sound from the television mounted nearby, but Alli (or Ally as she prefers because she likes the "fancy y‚" she recently learned during a second grade cursive lesson) has no patience to sit and relax. The only time she slows is when the CHaD nurse comes in to check on her dialysis machine, and to make sure the tubes running into her midsection are adhered properly despite all her movement. ‚"Most people who know Alli say, 'She doesn't look sick,' " Gibbons says. "She's always acted like this. She's just the happiest child you ever could know. She's energetic and doesn't let anything stop her." Her family plans for that to remain the case -- even in the midst of her undergoing kidney transplant surgery this week, on Feb. 3. Alli was diagnosed with congenital nephritic syndrome in the weeks, following her birth and she has endured lengthy hospital stays and operations in the years leading up to transplant decision. While the nurse gives her a once-over, Alli lies on her bright pink "Hannah Montana" blanket, surrounded by pink stuffed animals, while wearing a pink outfit.

Sitting next to her is Laurie Bapp, who wears a long-sleeve pink T-shirt and laughs when it's pointed out, "I really didn't have a choice‚" she says, motioning to Alli. The choice she did have, the decision to donate one of her kidneys to Alli, was also a relatively simple decision. "Nothing could change my mind," she says. "I want her to have a long and healthy life. That's what makes it worth it in the end. It may take a little while to recover, but it's worth it because it's for Alli and we are all just hoping it works in the long run." Gibbons says Bapp has been a long-time family friend and one she's always had a special connection to. "She was the one who told me I was pregnant. She was my Lamaze coach when I was in labor. She has been there when Alli has been sick and she's been through all the major surgeries," Gibbons says. "She's just been there from day one. She told me eight years ago that this is something she wanted to do. It's been eight years thinking, 'This is going to happen.' And now, all I'm thinking is, 'Wow, this is actually happening.' " Bapp, who has a 9-year-old son who she says is "extremely supportive‚" of his mother's decision, will be away from her job at the Main Street Market in North Springfield, Vermont, for at least six weeks. "Alli‚' recovery is pretty quick," Gibbons says. "It's Laurie's recovery that's a lot longer‚"it can be up to a year until she's back to 100 percent. But it takes four to six weeks until she‚'d be ready to go back to work."

Neither Alli's father, Josh Gibbons, or her mother were a good blood type match for the transplant. Bapp and Alli underwent the surgery on February 3.

Josh Gibbons and stepmother Kate Manns, a coding advisor at DHMC, have created a fundraising campaign to help with Bapp's expenses. For a small donation, angel earrings, created by Manns's aunt and cousin can be purchased by emailing kate.manns@hitchcock.org. A donation account has been set up at Service Credit Union here at the DHMC branch. Checks should be made out to "Service Credit Union" and in the memo/note section on the check needs to be written ‚"For Laurie Bapp-Transplant Donor." Checks can be deposited at the DHMC branch or mailed to: Service Credit Union, DHMC Branch, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756.

A fundraiser event for the girl and Bapp is planned for March 19 at the Springfield Elks Club.

--DHMC Center View