Patti Dozier/Times-EnterpriseAndrea Morris’ kidney disease battle has been a family affair, with treatment overseen by Daryl Crenshaw, M.D., standing at the far right. Family members are, from left to right, Aniesia Morris, Aniya Morris, Andrea Morris, Felicia Morris and Benjamin Morris.

THOMASVILLE — Girls entering ninth grade expect rigorous scholarly responsibilities. They eagerly anticipate dating and all the other experiences young female teens look forward to as they mature into women.

Entering ninth grade at Thomasville High School in August 2012, Andrea Maria Morris had a rash. Her feet were swollen, her legs hurt, and her mouth was always dry.

Her mother, Felicia Morris, took her 14-year-old daughter for an annual eye exam. The opthamologist detected retinal swelling, a sign of kidney failure.

“Your eyes can tell a lot about your health,” Mrs. Morris said.

A lab test showed the teen was in end-stage renal failure. There was no time to pack for the emergency trip to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Mrs. Morris recalls Thomasville medical personnel telling her, “‘Don’t pack. You don’t have time to pack.’ I’ll never forget those words,” she said.

Shands physicians were amazed. 

“They said she was so sick she should not have made it,” Mrs. Morris recalled, adding that her daughter’s hemoglobin was extremely low.

After two weeks of treatment, the patient’s parents were told their daughter must be treated by a pediatric nephrologist.

The closest of the specialists were in Gainesville and Atlanta.

“I prayed about it. I felt led to take her on — 14 years old,” said Daryl Crenshaw, M.D., a nephrologist at Georgia Kidney and Hypertension Clinic in Thomasville.

A biopsy of the teen’s kidneys showed significant damage — scarring — requiring hospital dialysis, then home dialysis.

“Some students at school made fun of her (dialysis) shunt,” Crenshaw said, noting Andrea’s family support.

“Everybody had a part in the dialysis at home,” Mrs. Morris said.

Younger sister, Aniesia, now 9, was her sister’s protector and read to her. Sister Aniya was “her go-to person,” the children’s mother said.

After 11 months of dialysis, tests were about to be performed on Andrea’s parents and siblings to determine whether one of them might have kidneys compatible for a transplant.

Suddenly, a kidney was available for transplanting. The donor was a man who died in a motorcycle crash.

Although the family does not know the identity of the donor, “We still pray for their family to this day,” Mrs. Morris said.

Andrea and her sisters were on summer break in June 2017, when her legs began to hurt. The family’s primary care physician told Mrs. Morris to take Andrea to the Archbold Memorial Hospital emergency room.

“Her creatinine was elevated,” Mrs. Morris said.

Said Crenshaw, “It showed the kidney was not functioning as well as it had before.”

Andrea returned to Shands and more tests. A biopsy showed she was in rejection of the kidney.

Frustration, fear and anger set in.

“What we didn’t know is we caught it in time. You can actually reverse it,” Mrs. Morris said.

Impure plasma causing the rejection was replaced. Andrea underwent three weeks of blood transfusions and other treatment at Shands.

Mr. Morris, Benjamin, is an interface analyst at Archbold. Mrs. Morris works in accounting and collections for a medical company with offices here and in Atlanta.

The family is not certain they would have made it without Crenshaw’s medical care and personal involvement in Andrea’s illness.

At 20, Andrea is on the President’s List at Southern Regional Technical College, where she is enrolled in early childhood education.

She also will pursue a degree in social work.

The Morris family does not have a history of kidney disease. Andrea did not have high blood pressure and was not diabetic when her kidneys failed.

Today, she works out and watches her diet. Andrea’s mother described her daughter as “an advocate for order.”

“She’ll tell you, ‘You didn’t drink enough water today,’ “ her mother said.

Recalling their loved one’s battles, sister Aniya, 14, said she felt sadness about Andrea’s illness.

“But I knew I had to be strong for her,” Aniya said.

Reflecting on his daughter’s illness, Mr. Morris said hearing end-stage renal disease frightened him. He wondered what the remainder of her life would be like.

Andrea takes daily doses of antirejection and blood pressure medication, along with vitamins.

Crenshaw said kidney disease is on the rise because of diabetes and high blood pressure, among other diseases.

“Twenty million Americans have kidney disease, and many don’t know it,” he said.

The situation can result in end-stage kidney failure if not diagnosed early.

Andrea decided during her 2017 hospital stay for kidney-rejection treatment that she would no longer regret her journey but use it to encourage others facing kidney disease.

Today, she is bringing awareness by educating the community about kidney disease and early detection.

In March, she conducted her first Community Seminar for Kidney Awareness. Her theme: “Keep Making Lemonade,” and she wants to spread the word about being an advocate and a kidney disease survivor.

Andrea can be reached at (229) 200-0073 or andreamorrisvision@gmail.com.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820