Tinley Park Native to Share Story of Donating Kidney to Her Sister

Former Tinley Park resident Suzanne Ruff will be the guest author at 7 p.m. April 30 at the Tinley Park Library to discuss her book, The Reluctant Donor. Because April is Donate Life Month, the State of Illinois will also be at the Tinley Park Library on the same day from 3 to 6 p.m. providing information and registration materials.

Ruff’s powerful and humorous story is about the impact organ donation has had on her life. “Without organ donation, I would not have had much of a family.”  Her mother and both of her sisters have received kidney transplants. Her book describes her journey to become a living donor to one of her sisters, JoAnn Villanueva, a former resident of Oak Forest. The Daily Southtown did a three-part series about the sisters leading up to the transplant back in 2004.  

“As we near the 10th anniversary of the transplant, it’s bittersweet coming 'home' again," she said. "I remember my terror when the Southtown did our story. I was living in Minnesota then and JoAnn lived in Oak Forest.” 

Their other sister, Janice Gill, lives in Orland Park; she received a kidney transplant in 1995. 

“My family has been blessed to have six transplants to six different people. Our family suffers from the genetic disease, Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD).  There is no cure. I get so frustrated about that fact! The only treatment is dialysis or transplantation. I am the only one of my parent’s three daughters not to inherit the disease.  You could say I hit the genetic lottery,” Ruff explains, adding, “I’m often asked if I feel guilty, like survivor’s guilt, but I don’t, rather I feel intense personal responsibility to help find a cure, to tell our story, and to show people what organ donation can do for families like mine.”

How can a book about disease and organ donation be funny? This book is filled with Ruff’s family’s humor, secrets, and lies told to protect, and courage mixed with faith.  It will get the reader thinking, especially if the reader is ambivalent about organ donation.  “I get that,” says Ruff, “no one like to think about their death. But, it’s inevitable, isn’t it? I’m hoping The Reluctant Donor can give you a glimpse into the power of organ donation.”

“My favorite compliment is when a reader tells me, ‘I laughed and I cried and then laughed again’ while reading the book. Isn’t that what life is about?  I’ve done a lot of book clubs across the country via Skype and it’s a great book choice because the discussions are always lively. 

“We were raised on the South Side. Most of our family still lives here.  Many of them are battling this disease right now. We’ve met so many donor families across the country through our story.  No one knows what life holds. We want to smash the myths. But, mainly what we hope to do is nudge everyone to cherish life!”