By Gary Bass and Andrea Kieffer

                 It's been said the best gifts in life come straight from the heart. Sometimes they
                 come from other organs.

                 Christmas came about two months early for an Athens woman suffering from a
                 hereditary kidney disorder called Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). Her older
                 sister gave her the gift of a lifetime early Tuesday morning, by donating one of her
                 kidneys in a successful transplant operation. 

                 "Karen is family. If it were my next door neighbor, I'm not really sure that I'd be
                 able to do it," said Paula Swope of Cross Roads during an interview last Friday.
                 "People keep saying that I'm some kind of hero, but I don't feel that way. I felt
                 like it's something I need to do. I don't feel special - I feel scared, but it's
                 something I've set my mind to do."

                 "This is probably the best gift anyone has ever given me," said younger sister
                 Karen Yoder from a guest room at East Texas Medical Center Tyler Monday
                 afternoon. "It's hard to explain. I'm very nervous and excited at the same time,
                 and I'm ready to feel better for a change."

                 On Monday, doctors tested Paula and Karen to make sure the kidney was still
                 compatible. Their parents flew in from Indiana, and friends and family kept the
                 two sisters in their prayers.

                 As the big day approached, the Swope family handled the pending transplant
                 operation with a lot of love and a dash of good-natured humor. Also on hand
                 were Paula's husband, Richard Ratley Sr.; sister Vicki Swope of Gun Barrel City;
                 Karen's fiance, Brian Howell; and Karen's two children, Megan, 9, and Will, 7. 

                 "I told Beth (the transplant coordinator) it may not have been a good idea to put
                 us in the same room together," joked Paula. "I said, 'What if we have a sibling
                 fight and I walk out the night before the operation?'"

                 "PKD makes patients feel tired and lethargic. It also makes them anemic,"
                 explained transplant coordinator Beth Martin just before the operation. "I don't
                 see how she managed working full-time and raising two kids. But, after the
                 transplant she should feel tons better right away."

                 Laughter drifted down the halls of the hospital early this week, not a usual
                occurrence probably, but a way that Paula and Karen dealt with their stress.

                 "It's tougher for the donor to recuperate than the recipient," Martin said. "They
                 have to go through more muscle to take out the kidney; whereas, the surgeons
                 will be placing the kidney through the front of Karen." 

                 While the sisters sat close on the hospital bed and gave the nurses a run for their
                 money with comedy, family members visited. Hands were held as the close-knit
                 group shared recollections of times past.

                 "Just send me a good looking guy to take care of me," laughed Paula as the
                 nurses were explaining the recovery stages. 

                 Despite her fears, Paula went through with the operation early Tuesday morning.
                 Both sisters had their own surgeons and kidney specialists. Following the removal
                 of Paula's left kidney, the surgeon tied off blood vessels and stitched her back up.

                 According to Paula, routine procedure in a kidney transplant called for the doctor
                 to leave both Karen's kidneys in her body. The new kidney was put in the front of
                 Karen's abdominal cavity. 

                 Both Paula and Martin said the initial 24 hours after the transplant operation are
                 always the most crucial, because of the possibility the organ will be rejected by
                 the recipient's body.

                 "It went well," said Martin Wednesday afternoon. "Both patients are doing fine.
                 So far, all of Karen's lab values are normal, which is great. They should be able
                 to go home by this weekend." 

                 Earlier, Martin explained if the transplant were successful, the new kidney will
                 start to work immediately, cleansing Karen's blood.

                 Doctors told Karen she would be out of work at Argon in Athens for four to
                 eight weeks and that she couldn't even drive for four weeks. Because her
                 anti-rejection medicine lowers her resistance to infections, doctors warned her
                 not to change babies' diapers or cat litter for three months.

                 For Paula, an avid horse lover who trains equines at her Prairie Creek Ranch, the
                 hardest part of the transplant will be not being able to ride for three months. She
                 will be able to do everything else within eight weeks. Still able to do ground work
                 with horses, Paula said her husband, a horseshoer, will take over the rest of her
                 training duties, and a friend will take over with the continuing education equine
                 class she teaches at Trinity Valley Community College.

                 "My doctor didn't want me to take the chance of falling off," said Paula. "But I'll
                 be back in the saddle before I know it. My life will just be on hold for a couple of
                 months."

                 Unlike most people who have probably never even heard of PKD - which is
                 actually more common than cystic fibrosis - the Swopes know full well what the
                 disease can do. PKD has stalked members of their family for generations.

                 The sisters' mother has the disease and has been on dialysis for the past 16 years.
                 She has to do a fluid exchange five times a day. Their aunt and uncle also have
                 PKD, and a grandfather died of complications from PKD in the early '70s.

                 "I tested clean," said Paula. "I've got my daddy's genes."

                 Karen was first diagnosed with the disease when she was pregnant with Will
                 seven years ago. A slow-acting disease, PKD formed cysts in her kidneys which
                 impaired their function. Three months ago, her kidneys were operating at about
                 15 percent capacity. As a result, Karen was put on a kidney donor list.

                 Both Paula and her brother John offered to donate kidneys. However, the doctor
                 chose Paula because she was closer in location (John lives in Indiana) and
                 because a transplant from a large man to a small woman is more difficult. After
                 the tests, Paula proved to be an almost perfect match. Her kidney fit five out of
                 six criteria for the transplant.

                 "Karen's daughter Megan wrote a paper in school about who her hero was," said
                 Paula. "It was me because I was giving my kidney to her
                 mom."/1998/November/6