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JANUARY 1, 2001
CHASTA
UMPQUA
MOLALLA
KALAPUYA
ROGUE RIVER
503-879-5211 .
1-800-422-0232
A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe
www.grandronde.org
urn
New Year, New Millennium, New Beginning
Local couple gets another chance at life.
Tribal member
Bob Mercier goes to
the edge, looks oven
By Brent Merrill
Life is precious.
What matters most in life are the
people you are closest to, the people
you know you can count on.
When former Grand Ronde Tribal
Council member Bob Mercier found
out he needed a new kidney he took
a moment out of his busy life to won
der what was ahead. What turns
would life take? Where would he and
his wife Gayle be in a year from now?
Two years from now? Did he even
get to think about the future?
With their grandchildren sprouting
like weeds in a field, Bob and Gayle,
married for 38 years, never blinked.
They never stopped living. They
never surrendered to the temptation
of wondering what could happen af
ter years of dealing with Bob's dia
betes and now this.
"We just went right on," said Gayle.
"We didn't stop. We still went to
work. You know, we still did every
thing. We had our bad days. We
were in the hospital a lot. But, we
just went on."
When he knew he was really in
trouble with the kidney failure, the
family and doctors turned to Bob's
sister Bonnie Tom to find a match
ing kidney and the new chance at
life that Bob was clinging to.
Bob is the son of Tribal Elder Joe
"Sonny" Mercier and the late
Blandine Holmes, the brother of
Bonnie Tom, Carol Olson and Jeff
Mercier, the father of Teri Mercier
and the grandfather of Ali, Keiffer
and Zoey.
"It (the kidney problems) came on
kind of gradually in the first part of
1999," said Bob. "It was in July of
1999 when I really got in trouble with
it. The kidney just almost quit func
tioning at that time. After a lot of
testing, I started dialysis in July."
Dialysis is a treatment that creates
a kidney outside of the body. The
dialysis machine works as a filter,
removing excess fluid and toxins in
the blood. The dialysis machine takes
the blood out of the body close to a
hundred times and filters it back in
a four-hour period of time.
Bob said the dialysis machine was
helpful but, not a way of life.
"It just came on gradually until it
got to the point where I didn't feel
well any of the time," said Bob. "It
progressively got worse until we
started dialysis and that helped. But
it still, to me, wasn't the answer to
be hooked to that machine."
Bob said he grew tired of the pro
cess of dialysis quickly and he began
to despise the treatments.
"I hated every minute of it," said
Bob in a strong voice. "Because you
are there for four hours and you don't
move. You just sit there and let the
machine do its job. For a person that
is active, it is kind of a bad situation.
The home dialysis was done through
the evening. You would hook up the
machine at night at about 8:30 p.m.
and then stay on it until 6:30 a.m.
It filtered you all night. At least you
had your all day freedom."
Home dialysis is called Peritoneal
dialysis. Dialysis that can only be
done at a kidney center is called He
modialysis. Bob started his treatments in Sa
lem, but then was allowed to do them
at home. He said he appreciated not
having to go to the hospital to get
his treatment.
"That was a lot better," said Gayle
in a whisper. "That was a lot better
for him."
Bonnie was a willing participant
and tests were conducted. It didn't
take long for her to decide she
wanted to help.
"I felt scared and sick," said Bonnie
when she found out about her brother's
worsening condition. "Because you
just don't know... You don't really
know ahead of time what is going to
happen. So you just feel sick inside
because what are the chances of find
ing a donor? You know, what is the
chance of finding a match? So, you
don't really know what is going to hap
pen. So, I think the first reaction is
pretty nerve racking.
"I just knew from the beginning, I
just felt like that was what was meant
to be," explained Bonnie. "That is
why it was such a shock when I found
continued on page 3
' 4
T ' - J -
.-f
STACKED UP Snow dusted Grand Ronde and the entire West Valley on
Monday, December 10 and snarled traffic on Highway 18 as a result. The
snow lasted a brief, but eventful 48 hours.
t Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde PRESORTED
Community of Oregon FIRST-CLASS MAIL
9615 Grand Ronde Road U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347 SALEM, OR
Address Service Requested , PERMIT NO. 178
Serials Dept. - Krji&ht Library
1239 UNrUERSfTV OF flRKOM
EUGENE OR 9?403-l205
Tribal families
Celebrate
the Season..,
it
Tribal Council hosted the Annual Tribal Christmas party on Saturday, Decem
ber 9 at the Grand Ronde Community Center. Approximately 240 people made
their way inside to be greeted by festive decorations and the smell of holiday food.
A meal was shared and Santa was there for the children. Before and After School
Care and Head Start children sang and entertained the guests. Fruit baskets,
prepared by Leonette Galligher, and Poinsettias were given away as door prizes
throughout the day. More Holiday Photos on pages 6&7