Lawyer, friend doing well after kidney surgery

The prognosis is good for the political adviser, whose new organ replaces a machine he relied on to live.

By CHRISTINA K. COSDON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 31, 2002

Before he was rolled away for kidney transplant surgery Thursday, Ed Armstrong told his wife, "I'm ready. I love you."

"I was very calm," Tara Armstrong said. "We've been so prepared for this."

After 2 1/2 hours of surgery, Armstrong's new kidney was operating normally. Both he and the donor, a close friend who requested anonymity, were doing fine, Mrs. Armstrong said.

When transplant surgeon Dr. Victor Bowers told her "we're home free," she laughed and said she was "excited ... elated ... and totally exhausted."

"His prognosis, everything was positive," she said. Dr. Bowers "had nothing to say as to any concerns we should have. I give credit to the surgeon for that."

Armstrong, a 44-year-old political adviser and land-use attorney who lives in Dunedin, lost both kidneys last month to a life-threating genetic disease that causes multiple cysts to grow on the kidneys, enlarging them in some cases to the size of a football or larger. Friends who learned that Armstrong would need a transplant began offering their kidneys, and one was a match.

"We are so blessed that we had a friend that matched so Ed could have a healthy future life," Mrs. Armstrong said. "We're so grateful to him."

In preparation for the transplant, Armstrong spent Wednesday night at Tampa General Hospital and received a 2 1/2-hour dialysis treatment Thursday morning.

He will remain in the hospital for five days, his donor for three to five days, Mrs. Armstrong said.

She said she will spend a lot of time at the hospital with her husband and must wear a hospital gown and mask during the visits.

She said her parents, Barbara and Terry Goewert of Dunedin, and her husband's father, Ed Armstrong II of Clearwater, are taking care of the couple's 4-year-old daughter, Lexa.

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