Posted August. 20, 2001 08:58,
On August 10, in Southern Cholla region, Chang Heung Kun, Kim Moon Hee (16 years old), a first grader in Chang Heung High, went ahead with a kidney transplant operation against strong protest at the Kwangju Choson University Hospital.
The recipient was the mother Wee Sun Kyung (39, b. Southern Cholla Chang Heung Kun, Chang Heung) who has been suffering from chronic renal failure for many years.
``My father is diabetic and my brother is deaf. I couldn`t bear to see my mother suffer in the hospital as well so I gave one of my kidneys.`` After donating her kidney to her mother who had survived through medication and then peritoneal dialysis until the treatment reached its limit, Kim herself become another patient.
Kim suffers from a hereditary heart disease called atrial septal defect for which she could not receive treatment because of her family problems until finally she went into surgery two years ago. Her health is precarious and she still has trouble breathing when physically exerting herself during exercise.
At the time her mother was admitted to the Choson University Hospital, the doctors expressed misgivings about accepting Kim`s request for donating her kidney. She was too young and had a prior surgery, but the doctors failed to curb Kim`s determination.
``I tore my heart when my mom held my hand tight before the surgery and said to me `I am sorry`, but I am happy that a part of me will always be in her.``
Kim, who was released on August 18, feels her heart aching when she thinks about her father taking care of her mother in the sterilized room for organ transplant patients and her younger brother who had stay home.
Kim`s father, Kim Yoo Hu, who operates his own private taxi service, has diabetes which is a notoriously difficult to treat. Although he has been able to maintain his health and work through medication and strict diet, an amalgamation of different health problems caused by the disease has led to a rapid decline in his eyesight. The worsening of eyesight has forced him to stop working at night.
Recently, after a tortuous deliberation, Mr. Kim made the decision to put his cab up for sale. The profits after he stopped driving nights were small and there was no other way to pay for his wife`s 20, 000, 000 won medical bill.
Ms. Kim`s younger brother Kong-Ui (14 years old) lost his eyesight when he was two years old and later developed autism. Because of his mother`s health problems, the Kim family has never been able to go on a family outing.
Ms. Kim, who has aspirations to become a nurse, expressed her hope - ``I want my mother and father to recover quickly, and my brother to find his bright smile again. And when they do, I want to go on a family trip to somewhere nearby.``