Hanna Burdette recovers after her kidney transplant at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. “I just feel lucky that I got the chance to have it done now,” she said. (Submitted Photo)
This past Christmas, an Oglethorpe County mother gave her daughter a second gift of life.
April Nation, 44, and Hanna Burdette, 26, underwent a kidney transplant on Dec. 13 at Emory University Hospital.
Hanna’s kidney journey began when she was 18, when she struggled with constant migraines and high blood pressure. When she was finally diagnosed in 2019, the kidney disease had already been undetected for too long, causing her to be pronounced as stage 3.
By 2021, she had progressed to stage 4.
A biopsy in 2022 revealed Hanna had IgA nephropathy, or Berger’s disease, an autoimmune disease where excess antibodies (IgA) are deposited on the kidneys and cause inflammation, and eventual kidney failure.
Just 25 years old, the Oglethorpe County native found herself in kidney failure after years of battling kidney disease, and in May of 2024, Hanna received her first surgery to insert a dialysis port at Piedmont Athens Regional.
“At first when it happened, I was a little down about it, but eventually I had to just change my mindset,” Hanna said.
During Christmas of 2023, Hanna’s kidney function had dropped to around 20%. And by May of 2024, Hanna was in full kidney failure.
Hanna’s mother remembers how fast events happened from going into the emergency room, getting the port surgery and receiving the first round of dialysis.
“The initial part of it was very hard. Her getting the port put in and being hospitalized was very hard,” April said. “That was all through Mother's Day and everything.”
After being put on consistent dialysis at DaVita Classic City Dialysis in Athens, the need for a transplant was imminent. April immediately jumped at the opportunity to be tested and potentially matched as her daughter’s donor.
“It’s scary and it’s very hard, but I just went in full ‘Let's get it going on.’ Let's get the test going and hopefully match,” April said. “And everything matched perfectly. It couldn’t have been any better.”
A couple of months later, their transplant date was set: Dec. 13, 2024. For both, this would be their first major surgeries.
“I mean, I was nervous, but it was my daughter, you know. So I had both ends of the nerves,” April said. “I had the ‘Oh, God, I’m about to lose a kidney,’ but I wanted her to be OK.”
Hanna, on the other hand, was confident from the lab tests that she would not reject her mother’s kidney. She was more wary of not having her mother by her side who had been with her every step of this kidney journey.
“I wasn’t really worried about the surgery, but I wanted my mama there,” Hanna said.
While the two were in surgery, Kristy Burdette, Hanna’s aunt, updated the community on her Facebook page. Kristy had been sharing updates and fundraising for Hanna’s transplant about a month before the scheduled day.
Although she now lives in Dalton, Georgia, Kristy rallied her hometown community and surpassed the $5,000 goal by raising $7,045 for lost wages while recovering and new medication costs.
At first, Hanna did not want the GoFundMe to be created, afraid that no one would make a donation. Her aunt made one anyway.
“I was shocked that so many people cared about us and wanted to give and be supportive. It was just heartwarming to see the community care that much,” Hanna said. “Some people I hadn’t talked to in years donated to it. So it was just really sweet to see that we touched that many people.”
A month later, both Hanna and her mom are recovering well.
Hanna is on anti-rejection medication and will have lab tests for most of her life, but she is excited for some normalcy.
April was scheduled to go back to work on Monday, while Hanna will follow shortly after on Feb. 3.
“We weren’t even sure what normal was. It was years of being sick and going through all the things before we got to here,” April said.
The mother-daughter duo are grateful that their journey was short-lived at around 10 months from failure to transplant and that their young ages made the chances a lot higher for a successful surgery.
Hanna is most grateful for her mother’s donation and to be able to have a part of her forever.
“The coolest thing to me is that they don’t take out your other kidneys,” Hanna said. “They just put the new one in. I have a part of my mom, literally, in me, and I can feel it. It’s kind of strange, but it’s really cool. It’s just sweet that we have each other like that.”