Easton Police Officer given a second chance at life
Employees of the Easton Police Department are going above and beyond to help give one of their own a second chance at life. Lenox Trams has been a police officer for 17 years and has had problems with his kidney’s for the past 12 years. That is when Trams found out his kidneys were only functioning at 50% capacity.
Trams suffers from Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) which in short means the kidney tissue is scarred, which can lead to failure. Trams became an advocate for the National Kidney Foundation, and while he was raising money, he was informed he would need a transplant himself.
That’s when his co-workers from the Easton Police Department stepped up to the plate. And those co-workers, who Trams calls family, says it wasn’t even a question. Sergeant George Paugh says that Trams would do anything for him, and vice versa. He backed up this claim by applying to donate his own kidney. After making it through several rounds of testing, one of the tests showed a score that was just a little to high to be a perfect match. Still, it was close enough that he moved on. However when the doctors consulted with one another, they decided it was too risky to let Paugh go through with the transplant. He said he was devastated to tell his long time friend.
Without missing a beat, another co-worker stepped up. Initially, it was a perfect match yet again, but lightning struck twice, another final stage disqualification. That’s when Trams says fear started to set in. With 17 years experience, he says this fear was nothing like what he faces daily as a police officer. And another fear, having to deal with the delicate task of telling his 10 year old son. Trams, a father of two, ages 10 & 5, said it took him a while to build up the courage to tell his son Tyler. Trams says he was amazed by how conscious his son was of the situation, as well as the shock that struck him when Tyler offered to donate his own kidney. Trams broke the news to his son that he was too young to do it, but the support gave him the courage to move forward.
Keeping a positive attitude was tough though, with grueling hours of dialysis, 4 hours a day, 3 days a week. Though Trams credits the staff at Devita Dialysis for being “awesome” through their care. He says the treatment still wore on him over time.
But his spirits lifted, though hesitantly, when a familiar story started over. Another selfless co-worker, another perfect match. Jill Garvey, the girlfriend of one of the disqualified donors and employee of Easton PD, applied for the transplant – and was approved.
The surgery is set to take place on March 18th, and Trams says he’s grateful for a second chance at life. The icing on the cake: March is kidney awareness month.
