Guadalupe Dominguez Galeno

November 18, 2010, marks an independence day of sorts for Guadalupe Dominguez-Galeno-the one-year anniversary of a kidney transplant that freed her from dialysis. Her mother donated one of her own healthy kidneys to Guadalupe, whose recovery has allowed her close-knit family-her parents Sylvia Galeno and Euligio Dominguez and two younger brothers-to enjoy the simple joy of all being together.

It’s time they appreciate after spending three days a week at Riley Hospital, 150 miles from their home in South Bend, Ind., for more than a year. 

Guadalupe, who will be 12 on December 6, was born with spina bifida, a condition in which the spinal column does not close all the way when a baby is in the womb. According to the Spina Bifida Association, the developmental birth defect has been found to occur more frequently in Hispanic populations; Sylvia and Euligio’s native country is Mexico. 

Guadalupe underwent a number of medical procedures related to spina bifida at Riley Hospital. One of her kidneys functioned at less than 100 percent and the other, hardly at all. When Guadalupe had surgery to reconstruct her bladder in 2002, doctors removed the failed kidney.

By 2008, her remaining kidney had deteriorated, and Guadalupe needed dialysis, first twice and then three times a week. It often meant leaving home before 4 a.m. “She’d say, ‘I don’t want to go,’” Euligio recalls. “I tried to explain. We have no choice, we have to be there.”

Once she got to Riley Hospital, however, Guadalupe’s positive attitude always
bubbled back up. “Guadalupe’s very fun and easy-going,” says Riley Hospital Child Life Specialist Jill Tourney, who recalls her creativity and love of arts and crafts.

“When there were challenges, she kept moving along. Her family was very hopeful about getting a transplant,” Jill added.

Both parents were tested as potential kidney donors. Sylvia was a match, and William Goggins, M.D., ended Guadalupe’s dependence on dialysis with the successful transplant surgery. “My daughter was at Riley, and my wife was at IU,” Euligio says. “I’d like to say thanks; they gave good care to my family.”
Concurrent to receiving the gift of life from her mom, Guadalupe helped spread good tidings to people around the state when her Christmas tree artwork was selected for the 2009 Riley Holiday Card program.

Today, Guadalupe is a sixth-grader at Greene Intermediate Center. “She’s always happy,” Euligio says of her daughter. “She never complained, even when she had surgery or the kidney transplant. She is very strong. I believe God cared for her.”