Frank Uehara of Makiki got a phone call in October from his sister saying their brother, Sidney, had asked her to be his caregiver. That was the moment Uehara — known in local music circles as a master of the pakini, or single-string washtub bass — found out his brother had end-stage kidney disease and could spend the rest of his life on dialysis.
"The first thought that came to my mind was, ‘I gotta do something.’ I couldn’t imagine going over to hang out at my dad’s place knowing that my brother was downstairs living on dialysis," he said. (Their father, George Uehara, was a longtime chef at Columbia Inn.)
With more than 400 men, women and children in Hawaii on the waiting list for a kidney donation, Sidney Uehara’s future seemed bleak.
Still in shock after hearing his younger brother needed a transplant, Frank Uehara’s first call was to fellow entertainer Carmen Haugen, who works for the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii and performs at fundraisers for the organization. Haugen directed him to the Queen’s Medical Center’s Transplant Center.
"I told them, ‘Put me on the list for my brother,’" said Uehara, 63.
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WORLD KIDNEY DAY
With entertainment by Keith Haugen, Frank Uehara and the Moanalua High School Symphony Orchestra
» When: 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday
» Where: Ala Moana Center’s Centerstage
» Cost: Free
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Until he retired two years ago, Frank Uehara worked 20 years as head of the Ala Wai Golf Course, maintaining the course for 91,000 rounds of golf a year. His second career is music, playing the washtub bass in the Carmen Haugen Quartet. Since 2006 he has performed at Keith and Carmen Haugen’s annual Peace on Earth Concert benefiting the Kidney Foundation. (This year’s concert is May 30 at the Hawaii Theatre.)
Carmen Haugen had been recruited out of retirement from her "day job" to be office manager for the organization by Diana Benningfield, senior vice president of development and operations and a kidney donor herself. Benningfield said that early on in her job, she learned about kidney donations and thought, "Wow, I could do that."
It turned out she was an organ match for three children, and in 2007 she donated one of her kidneys.
A transplant from a family member has a higher likelihood of success, and tests confirmed the Uehara brothers were a match. Then further tests and counseling began. In great shape from walking what he calls his "150-acre office" for eight hours a day, plus another five hours a day of playing the golf course, Uehara did have to give up smoking and beer.
He said he expected a battery of medical tests leading up their Feb. 3 surgery but was again surprised when his transplant coordinator, Maile Redding, introduced him to a team that included a psychologist, a dietitian and a psychiatrist, all volunteers for the Queen’s program. Uehara said they asked three different times whether he was sure about the transplant.
"I wondered if there was something on the other side of the tunnel," he said, "but I was going all the way."
For the pre-transplant program, both brothers’ blood and urine samples were tested from October to the first week in February, when the surgery would take place.
"At 5:30 a.m. I checked into the center, met the anesthesiologist in the pre-op room and woke up three hours later. I missed all the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ drama. That kidney went right from me to my brother," he said. "Three days later I went home feeling fine. But for six weeks I couldn’t lift over 10 pounds, play music gigs or work my third career, care-taking the grounds of the Honolulu Lawn Bowling facility at McCoy Pavilion in Ala Moana Park."
He said he now feels great and his brother is doing well, with kidney function ratings that went from 7 to 58, with 60 being normal. Brother Sidney, 61, who lives in Kaimuki, is on antibiotics and anti-rejection drugs but is eager to be off what he calls "house arrest." He sees the doctor every other day and counts the days until he is back to his job as shop foreman at New City Nissan.
Kidney disease is 30 percent higher in Hawaii than in the rest of the nation, with Asians and Pacific Islanders at higher risk. Called the silent killer, there are no signs or symptoms until 70 percent of kidney function is lost.
More than 70 percent of the people living with kidney failure started with diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. Free screenings by the National Kidney Association of Hawaii allow everyone to be proactive about kidney health.
"I feel great, and my brother has a new lease on life," Uehara said. "And what I keep thinking about is the 400 people still on Hawaii’s transplant list. Most of them must have family somewhere that could step up to donate. Maybe not everyone has a match, but we sure could cut the numbers on that list."
Uehara’s message echoes Keith Haugen’s song lyrics, "I love my kidneys but I have two, so if you need one I can give it to you," the song they will sing for the ninth annual World Kidney Day observance from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Ala Moana Center’s Centerstage.
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Free kidney screenings are offered statewide by National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii; visit www.kidneyhi.org Opens in a new tab or call 593-1515.
