The Miracle Child

That’s what Reverend Sylvester Hunter of Union Baptist Church in Fort Wayne calls parishio-ner Quiana Carrier. Though she hadn’t been home long after her kidney transplant last spring, Quiana wore a mask and went to church on Easter Sunday.

When she was only 19 years old, Quiana woke up with her eyes, ears and nose bleeding. In the emergency room, her blood pressure was skyrocketing. Though Quiana hadn’t realized she had a problem, the high blood pressure had taken its toll and destroyed her kidneys. Quiana was on dialysis for about 4 years and on the waiting list for a kidney for 3 1/2 years.

Quiana didn’t just wait and hope. She went to school at Indiana Business College and received her Associate Degree in Applied Science just weeks before she received her kidney. Quiana said, “I was tired all the time, but I stayed in school. I started working out. I would leave school to go to dialysis and then go to the gym. I lost about 50 pounds. I also joined the church. I wanted to make sure I was in good shape physically and spiritually when I got the call for a transplant.”

When that call came, Quiana, normally determined, upbeat and positive, was very sad. Her fistula, the opening in her arm that provided access to her blood vessels for dialysis, no longer worked. She was scheduled to have minor surgery to get another one the next day. Instead, she got a kidney! Less than a year after her surgery, Quiana works at Matthew 25 Free Clinic in Fort Wayne where she fills prescrip-tions for patients. She’s very active in her church. She volunteers for IOPO and talks to organizations, schools, and driver’s education classes. Her message is simple, “If it wasn’t for my donor, I wouldn’t be here. Wouldn’t you want somebody to help you?”

Quiana is thankful for her kidney and for her newfound faith. She says, “I used to always want just to have a good time. Now I want to have a good life.”

From the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization website.

"It takes us...to save us."