Ausnes, 55, who works at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, has known about her polycystic kidney disease for nearly 20 years. The genetic disorder causes numerous cysts in the kidney and eventual kidney failure. When her health suddenly began to decline and her kidneys were functioning at only 15 percent, she knew she needed a transplant.
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| ©Paul Joseph Brown / P-I |
| Annamarie Ausnes, left, greets barista Sandie Andersen with a rose on Andersen's arrival at Virginia Mason Medical Center for the kidney transplant surgery Tuesday. All went fine. "If you can save somebody's life, it's special," said Jeffrey Andersen, Sandie's husband. |
