Jim Poppy, 51, of Clintonville, learned at age 8 that he had diabetes, which is hereditary in his family. He injected a shot of insulin each day and altered his diet to control the disease. That is until he was 29 years old.
One day after work, as a milk tester, he found his blood pressure had gone “sky high” and his body was swollen. He was taken to Appleton Medical Center, where he learned his kidney had failed. It was Dec. 13, 1991.
He was sick for a year before receiving a new kidney and pancreas from a 24-year-old woman from Rockford, Ill.
Following the transplant, Poppy went in for lab work each month to be sure his new organs were functioning properly. He kept a record of the results of each checkup. He also used the computer he acquired in 1997 to research his disease.
Everything went well for the next 19 years, when again his monthly lab work indicated his kidney was failing and he would need another transplant. He traveled to Shawano three times a week for dialysis for several months as he waited for a donor.
On Dec. 9, after arriving home from dialysis, he got the call.
“I could tell by the way Jim answered the phone this time that the call was different. He just put his thumbs up to let me know,” said Kathy Poppy, Jim’s wife.
They were told to be in Madison at the University of Wisconsin Hospital by 3 p.m. He went into surgery at 10:40 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10, and came out about 3:10 a.m. the next day. He came home on the following Saturday.
The new kidney was not expected to function immediately, but Poppy learned that his replacement started working while he was on the operating table.
“This was very different from the first time when he was in the hospital for two weeks after receiving the new organs,” Kathy Poppy said. “Now they want you to go home where there are less germs and you are more comfortable.”
“The transplant surgery was not as bad this time, not as dramatic,” she added. “The first time, I thought some of the things they did were barbaric.”
While in the hospital, Poppy noticed teams of doctors often stopped to see him. He thought that was routine, but he later learned that the doctors were very interested in his case because his first transplant had lasted so long. The average transplant will last 10 to 12 years, fail immediately or last the life of a patient.
The medical team was also very interested in the diary Poppy had kept of his monthly visits at the lab for almost 20 years. It proved to be helpful. They were also impressed with the knowledge Poppy had gained of his disease through his research.
Poppy lost 50 pounds in the 18 months before the second transplant and another 25 since. “I wear suspenders or my trousers just fall to the floor,” he quipped.
“While on dialysis, I ate a lot of meat for protein. I now need to continue that, but I add more phosphorus and potassium,” Poppy said. “I drank a quart of liquid on dialysis, and now I drink a gallon of fluid each day. Basically, I am still living like a diabetic until my body fully takes over again, which could take a couple months.”
“I am not worried because I remember the first time,” he added. “I think the doctors are more worried that I am.”
Poppy continues to recover. He must wear a stomach band, or elastic wrap, because his stomach lining is so thin. He needs to have regular checkups and blood tests, perhaps for many years. He is looking forward to having cataract surgery in about six months.
Because he has been inactive for so long, he needs to build up his muscles. His ambition is to get exercising so he can get strong enough to help his friend on a farm.
Throughout his transplants and his struggle with diabetes, Poppy has maintained a positive attitude, which he credits to his faith.
“This disease makes me take my faith more serious,” Poppy said. “I never worry about my health. The Lord takes care of it.
“In the operating room, my blood pressure didn’t even go up, and the doctors and nurses were surprised. I was not nervous. I just told the crew to say a prayer for themselves and one for me. There was a real calmness. It was almost surreal.”
The Poppys have two married children, Brian and Elizabeth, and four granddaughters.
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