Norma Brickey, 82, has been driving the streets of Columbus, Ohio, with a sign in her car window. It reads: 鈥淢y son needs a kidney, O positive,鈥� followed by her phone number, 614-822-0911.
Brickey knows the difficulties of finding a kidney firsthand: Both she and another of her sons have had kidney transplants. All three suffer from polycystic kidney disease.
Here & Now鈥榮 Robin Young talks with Brickey about her mission to save her son鈥檚 life.
鈥淚鈥檓 just shocked at the people, their kindness, their concern,鈥� Brickey says.
Interview Highlights
On how her efforts are going so far
鈥淚 finally did get organized, and I still have a lot of callbacks to do. I鈥檝e tried to reach them, but I don鈥檛 get answers all the time. But I keep trying. But I鈥檝e had a lot of people that called, and I have probably about 20 people that are testing, some of them have called me back, and they haven鈥檛 tested that out, and I鈥檓 still searching. I鈥檓 still on my mission.鈥�
On the kidney disease her son has
鈥淚t鈥檚 called polycystic kidney disease. Cysts form on your kidneys 鈥� you don鈥檛 even know you have it. I didn鈥檛 know I had it until I was like 65. And you have to have an ultrasound to determine whether you have this or not. But it takes over your kidney function, and then you end up on dialysis, out begging for a kidney like me.鈥�
On how her son is doing
鈥淗e goes to dialysis four hours, and then after that he goes to work 12 hours. He鈥檚 a nurse. Dialysis is when they clean your blood because your kidneys cease to function. It鈥檚 very frightening. The first time I went was so frightening, to see my blood being taken out of my body, run through a machine and put back in. And it鈥檚 a really unpleasant experience. And he鈥檚 been on dialysis almost two years now.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been a friend of God鈥檚 for many years, and people like to know that. I do get calls from people, they want to know if this is real, because it鈥檚 probably shocking for people to see you ask for kidney. But my son probably gets up every day and asks himself, 鈥業s this real?鈥� That this has happened to him. And I told him, this is the year I鈥檓 going to find him a kidney.
鈥淢y other son said to me, 鈥楳om, if this happens, why don鈥檛 you help other people?鈥� And I may do that. My husband passed away 3-4 months ago, and I don鈥檛 really have a lot to do anymore. And I know a lot of people that would love to have a kidney.鈥�
On reaction from people who see her sign
鈥淚 don鈥檛 make extra trips for people to see the sign. I just do my errands, and almost every day I get a call. I get like maybe two calls, three calls a week, or I get a text to people, 鈥業 can鈥檛 help you, but I鈥檒l do anything I can do to help you. I鈥檒l even put a sign on my car, I鈥檒l stand in front of businesses.鈥� I get all these offers for help. And then they tell me that they鈥檙e keeping it going on Facebook. And then they do, and then the calls died down for a while and someone else picks it up.鈥�
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