Chris Cowman's Kidney Transplant

Chris grew up in Fargo, ND. He graduated from Fargo North High School in 1979. After graduation life took him to Reno, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and he has been in Vienna, Virginia for about 22 years.  He has two children, Annie and Max, both currently attending colleges in the Washington, DC area.

Chris went through prostate cancer several years ago, beating the cancer, but still not feeling well.  Tests revealed failing kidneys.  Dialysis was anticipated within the year, but started much earlier than planned because of the intense and life-altering side effect of complete body itching.  In the fall of 2019 his first dialysis port was inserted and the treatment followed - 5 hours a day, 3-5 days a week.  Not uncommonly, problems developed with the port.  Home dialysis was also tried for a while.  He is still on the 3-5 day, 5 hours a day treatment plan.

In 2020 he was given the fantastic news that he was an excellent kidney transplant candidate.  He would be placed on a transplant list and could be eligible as soon as 2 years, but more likely it would be 5-7 years because of the tremendous need for donors.

Not to worry!  Brother Jeff excitedly jumped into the donor position.  After a crazy amount of testing it was sadly discovered that their kidneys were not a perfect match.  This was understandably crushing for everyone.  Again, an angel stepped in!  Step-niece Heidi Fiechtner is the next to excitedly leap into the donor position!

Heidi is the daughter of Jeff Fiechtner, who is the husband of Chris's favorite sister, Vicki.  She is a 2004 Fargo North High School graduate.  She played basketball at Jamestown College for 4 years and graduated with a degree in Psychology.  She then earned a Masters Degree in Counseling at Moorhead State University.  She is currently a counselor at Fargo South High School.  She loves golf and her dog, Scout.

Heidi went through the exhausting testing, and God bless her she came up as a perfect match for Chris.  She is truly an angel with a heart too big to measure!