Howard shares a laugh with Ruby, the post-transplant coordinator.
 To this two-time transplant recipient, she is an old friend.

 HISTORY

In March 1994 Howard Lerner got his first kidney transplant. Adult diabetes had rendered the one kidney he was born with useless. His name was put on the recipient list and dialysis prescribed. This meant 3 trips weekly to a dialysis center where for 3-4 hours Howard's blood would be filtered. The process was hard on his system. Infections were frequent. Howard's wife Rona would often accompany him, reading to him or telling jokes. She was once thrown out for "rowdiness". "What's the point if you can't laugh", Howard believes. It was three years before a kidney became available. The kidney was not a perfect match, but rarely are organs from non-relatives. With help of anti-rejections drugs and monitoring, the kidney lasted three years.