Jade Summers has three kidneys.

After her own two failed suddenly last August, Summers, a Roseville resident underwent a kidney transplant last week to receive her mother’s kidney.

“The surgery went great, I feel fine and the kidney is working like it’s supposed to be,” Summers said Thursday, just 24 hours after surgery.

“There’s medically no difference in removing the kidneys or leaving them in,” said Jade’s mother, Roxanna. “So they leave them in and just hook up the new one like normal.”

Summers calls the kidney failure and subsequent transplant operation a bump in what has been an otherwise normal, healthy life.

Summers went in for a routine medical examination last August to discuss her frequent migraine headaches and some swelling in her ankles when doctors, alarmed by her sky rocketing blood pressure, admitted her to the Emergency Room for what they suspected was a pulmonary embolism.

“I felt fine, I figured I’d still be back at work for lunch and everything would be normal,” Summers said.

Several tests later and four hours after her original appointment time, Summers was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit for end stage renal failure. Her kidneys had stopped working altogether.

“That was a shock to all of us,” said Roxanna Summers. “She had always been healthy and here she was at 22 just starting her life and bam, she’s sick.”

Kidneys are responsible for filtering toxins out of the body, producing urine and hormones and regulating blood pressure.

According to the National Kidney Foundation more than 26 million Americans have kidney disease but 90 percent aren’t aware of it.

Because Jade’s kidneys were so scarred and poisoned, doctors were unable to perform a biopsy to uncover the cause of Jade’s sudden kidney failure.

Jade immediately began three-and-a-half-hour dialysis treatments three days a week, a routine she said was easy to adjust to but put a damper on travel plans and holidays.

A previously planned vacation to Reno with her boyfriend was cut short and Thanksgiving and Christmas plans had to be carefully orchestrated for dialysis treatments.

“I think I’ve adjusted really well. I’m good with change, so I just made it as normal of a routine as possible,” Jade said.

Several family members submitted to blood tests in the hopes that one would be a match and potential kidney donor.

Of the four family members tested, both Jade’s younger sister Tia, and Roxanna came back as matches. Because Roxanna proved to be a stronger match, doctors began the process to transplant her kidney to Jade.

“It’s more likely that a sibling will be a strong match because they are the closest genetic relative,” said Jade’s Nephrologist, Jennifer Pettigrew.

Because Jade will likely need another kidney transplant in 15 to 20 years, Tia, being the next strongest match, will undergo surgery for Jade’s second kidney donation in the future.

“It was a difficult decision,” Roxanna said. “But now both girls can live normal lives and there’s a backup kidney waiting when the time comes.”

To help with the medical expenses, Roseville City Girls’ Softball league hosted a Crab and Pasta Fundraiser Dinner last month, which raised more than $15,000.

Now, a week after the kidney transplant, both Jade and Roxanna are recuperating at home and both are doing well.

Although Jade will be on anti-rejection medicine for the rest of her life, so far her mother’s kidney is performing normally.

“I gave her life once and was given the opportunity to do it again,” Roxanna said. “How many moms can say they gave their child life twice?”

Symptoms of kidney failure often aren’t prevalent until advanced stages of the disease. Nephrologist Jennifer Pettigrew said regular bloodwork can often detect early signs of kidney failure months before symptoms arise.

Symptoms of end stage kidney failure are:

- Nausea

- Vomiting

- Loss of appetite

- Metallic taste in mouth when eating

- Swelling of lower extremities

- Elevated blood pressure

- Fatigue

- Weakness

Megan Wood can be reached at meganw@goldcountrymedia.com