{"id":8987,"date":"2022-06-29T14:47:46","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T18:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gatransplant.org\/?p=8987"},"modified":"2022-08-02T09:21:20","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T13:21:20","slug":"roach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gatransplant.blackbaudwp.com\/es\/roach\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith, Community & Hope: Sean Roach’s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 1997, Sean and Tammie Roach had only been married for two weeks when a car accident changed the course of Sean\u2019s life forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was in an accident with an 18-wheeler. The car was a total loss but he walked away without a scratch,\u201d Tammie remembers. \u201cBut he had to go to the emergency room, and it was then [the doctors told] him, \u2018Hey, something\u2019s going on with your kidneys\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sean\u2019s diagnosis was a mystery. He was told the condition was idiopathic, meaning the cause was unknown. What the doctors did know, however, was that his kidneys were operating at only 50 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I found out I had kidney disease I was devastated. I\u2019d never heard of kidney disease before. I knew nothing about it. I thought my world was coming to an end,\u201d Sean said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite his fears, for the next twenty years Sean juggled a career in education, raising three children with Tammie, and regular trips to the dialysis clinic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe stayed positive and he didn\u2019t want our kids to know what he was going through. That\u2019s why he chose to do dialysis in the clinic as opposed to at home,\u201d Tammie said. \u201cHe treated it as a separate part of his life, so they didn\u2019t really understand how serious it was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sean managed his condition and protected his children from the severity until 2015 when a stroke sent him back to the emergency room. The diagnosis was alarming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I got to the hospital, I learned that my kidneys had failed,\u201d Sean said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there things moved quickly. Sean and Tammie worked hard to learn as much as possible and his family rallied around him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy support system was everyone,\u201d Sean said. \u201cOf course my wife [and] three kids. My parents are my next-door neighbors, and my mother-in-law lives right around the corner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, one member of Sean\u2019s support system was able to help in one of the most meaningful ways possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t forget about my brother because he was my donor,\u201d Sean said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discovering that his brother was a match was incredible news for Sean and Tammie, but they were aware of the sacrifice giving an organ would entail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was very exciting news, but [we wanted to] make sure that he would be OK going through the process as well. It\u2019s not easy for anyone to get on the table and give an organ,\u201d Sean said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this period of uncertainty Sean relied on his faith in God and unflinching optimism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember at this time I was working in the school system and in every administrative meeting the superintendent would say something about my health and keep me in his prayers,\u201d Sean said. \u201cI would always say, \u2018I\u2019m gonna get a transplant next month\u2019 and I honestly believed it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, Sean\u2019s brother donated a kidney and the transplant was a success. After all the difficulties and fears that came before the operation, recovery wasn\u2019t nearly as much of a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a firm believer that God always picks something out for everybody\u2019s life and this is what I had to deal with,\u201d Sean said. \u201cI think [after] going through everything I went through, I really didn\u2019t see anything afterwards as a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the ordeal Sean and his family had been through, his Transplant Social Worker told him about the Georgia Transplant Foundation monthly virtual support group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was the unknown. You knew everybody had a transplant or was waiting on a transplant but it was unknown what the discussions were going to be,\u201d Sean said, recalling his first meeting. \u201cI think it took about two or three meetings before I felt very comfortable sharing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since joining the group, Sean has rarely missed a meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a life-line for me,\u201d Sean said. \u201cI get upset if I have to miss a meeting because I know what this group has meant to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Sean, the group members\u2019 shared experiences make them a powerful support network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve all gone through some type of transplant or we know someone who\u2019s gone through it. We all have that in common and to be able to have those conversations with people who have gone through the same things that you\u2019ve gone through means a lot,\u201d Sean said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sean and Tammie Roach<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Initially, Tammie was unsure about attending the meetings. After the trauma of Sean\u2019s health troubles, she wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to talk about the dark times. However, after attending a meeting she understood the profound impact it had on her husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe actual meetings are very cathartic. I was very hesitant about going to the meeting and Sean just kept on telling me \u2018you gotta come\u2019, \u2018you gotta come\u2019,\u201d Tammie said. \u201cI did not want to relive it, but once I went there with him it felt like a cleansing, like a liberation. Other people truly understand what you are going through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the support Sean and Tammie have received from the group has been immeasurable, Sean truly connects with the opportunity to support others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are people there who have waited years for a transplant and it hasn\u2019t happened. For some it happened very quickly, such as myself. Being able to support them is important,\u201d Sean said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite, or because of, his successful recovery, Sean plans to keep attending the support group every month. He also serves as a GTF Mentor to inspire and uplift patients embarking on their own transplant journeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe journey can get lonely at times, and a lot of people don\u2019t know what you\u2019re dealing with,\u201d Sean said. \u201cBeing able to support others and serve as a mentor is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GTF virtual support group meets on the third Thursday of every month at 7:00 PM. Meetings are always open to new members and can be joined with this Zoom link: https:\/\/us02web.zoom.us\/j\/81994478840<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more about the GTF Mentor Project please visit www.GaTransplant.org<\/a> or email support@gatransplant.org<\/a>.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1997, Sean and Tammie Roach had only been married for two weeks when a car accident changed the course of Sean\u2019s life forever. \u201cHe was in an accident with…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":8988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatransplant.blackbaudwp.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatransplant.blackbaudwp.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatransplant.blackbaudwp.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatransplant.blackbaudwp.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatransplant.blackbaudwp.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8987"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/gatransplant.blackbaudwp.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9038,"href":"https:\/\/gatransplant.blackbaudwp.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8987\/revisions\/9038"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatransplant.blackbaudwp.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatransplant.blackbaudwp.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatransplant.blackbaudwp.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatransplant.blackbaudwp.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}