Several times each school year, 50-year-old Catherine Grenig of North Olmsted acts like an 11-year-old. She plays the role of a young boy whose friend received a donor heart in a puppet show aimed at teaching children about organ and tissue donation. Although Cathy is no longer a child, getting into character isn't a far stretch for her: She received a kidney and pancreas transplant in 1992.
Cathy was diagnosed with diabetes at age 10. For 25 years she lived with the disease that prevented her pancreas from making enough insulin, which caused her glucose levels to rise. Eventually, her diabetes led to kidney failure.
"Two weeks before I was to get married in 1985, I landed in the hospital, probably because of stress," says Cathy. "The doctors told me my creatinine was starting to creep up." Creatinine is a chemical waste filtered out of the body by the kidneys: Rising levels indicate the kidneys aren't functioning adequately. Physicians at the Cleveland Clinic checked Cathy's creatinine levels and kidney function a couple times each year to ensure she wasn't in end stage renal failure.
In April 1992, Cathy began peritoneal dialysis at home each evening to remove waste products and extra fluids from her blood. A couple months later, she got a call from the hospital's transplant team telling her a set of organs was available. Cathy rushed to University Hospitals with her family, only to be disappointed. "We waited at the hospital the whole day," she recalls. "At the last minute, maybe nine o'clock at night, they said they had checked the organs and they weren't a good enough match for me."
But Cathy didn't have to wait long for another shot at new organs. Two weeks later, on June 29, she received a second call. This time, the pancreas and kidney were a good fit, and the 35-year-old underwent transplantation.
Fifteen years later, Cathy says, "Life is wonderful! I'm a normal person. I don't even think about the transplant half the time." But that doesn't mean she's not grateful to the donor family. "I have a 10-year-old nephew and a 14-year-old niece I probably never would've seen without the transplant," she says. "How do you thank somebody for giving you your life back?"
One way Cathy shows her appreciation is by volunteering for LifeBanc, northeast Ohio's organ procurement and tissue recovery agency. For 12 years, she's been a puppeteer for the organization's elementary education program. The Kids on the Block® Gift of Life Puppet program, aimed at third through sixth graders, presents three puppet shows about transplantation. LifeBanc also offers the "What's Inside?" Body Awareness Presentation for grades pre-kindergarten through second.
Cathy is one of 19 volunteers traveling to elementary schools across 20 counties in northeast Ohio. They educate students at up to 950 schools each year. "It has a ripple effect on many people in addition to the thousands of children we reach each year," says Gordon Bowen, CEO of LifeBanc. Parents and teachers also hear the important message about transplantation.
And the message is important. Nearly 1,500 people in northeast Ohio—and 100,000 across the country—are waiting for organs. "You hear the numbers," says Cathy. "But I think if you could associate faces with those people waiting, it would have a bigger impact." One of those faces belongs to Cathy—a daughter, wife, friend, aunt and gifted puppeteer.
Currently, nearly 100,000 men, women and children in the United States and thousands in Ohio are waiting for a life-saving transplant. You can become a registered organ donor right now or by saying “yes” when renewing your driver license or state ID at the BMV.