It was an extra special Mother’s Day for Rachel Retegan, Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital’s first kidney transplant patient to give birth post-transplant.
Retegan has called the Verde Valley home her whole life, even meeting her husband at a grocery store in Sedona back in 2013 after being diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney disease in her early 20s.
“To be honest, I just wasn’t ready to get a transplant when I was in my early twenties. But at 32, Zach and I had been together for nearly eight years and we were ready to start our family. So, the reward far outweighed the risks,” Rachel Retegan said. “My body wasn’t healthy enough to carry a baby without the transplant and I had to wait at least a year post-transplant before we could even think about trying to have a baby.”
Despite the challenges, Retegan knew she wanted to be a mother. And part of this was made possible by her supportive family. Serving as Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau’s Director of Visitor Services, Retegan’s mom, Donna Retegan, is also a staple member of the Verde Valley community.
“She was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease when she was 24, and she did dialysis for seven years. Then she finally decided to give in and get a transplant,” Donna Retegan said. “That’s kind of one of the important things, too, is for people to become donors cause then she was able to have a baby.”
According to Donna, one of Rachel’s kidneys was completely gone while the other was at 5% when she opted for the transplant in August of 2019.
“Rachel is our program’s first kidney transplant recipient to give birth post-transplant,” says Angela Smith, abdominal transplant program manager at St. Joseph’s. “Her family support has been outstanding and we are thrilled that she gets to experience being a mother thanks to the generosity of organ donation.”
Rachel Retegan finally brought her daughter into the world on March 16. Retegan and her husband, Zach Theis, took their daughter, Ava, back to their Cornville home after a month in the NICU in Phoenix.
“She was a high-risk pregnancy and then when you have a transplant, you have to take those autoimmune drugs,” Donna Retegan said. “So they had to change all of the meds and make sure everything was regulated to avoid birth defects before she could get pregnant.”
Ava was born healthy despite being premature. Initially, due on Mother’s Day, Ava was born six weeks early at 3 lbs. 8 oz. but has already grown to 6 lbs.
“Ava is our miracle and we’re so happy to finally have her home. It will be special to celebrate her ‘due date’ this weekend, which is also my first Mother’s Day with her,” Retegan said. “And of course, none of this would have been possible without St. Joseph’s and the selflessness of my organ donor’s family to whom my family and I are forever grateful.”
