Because of Merrill Vesper\u2019s fight against kidney disease, the long hikes he and his wife first took together more than 20 years ago are out.<\/p>\n
But the city of Kent worker carefully researches hikes he still can take with Mary, his wife of 22 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try to find something not too difficult,\u201d said Merrill, who tires much quicker because of the disease.<\/p>\n
The couple took just such a hike last weekend by Goat Lake up near Mount Rainier.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had plotted it out,\u201d Mary said. \u201cIt took us five hours to go 2 1\/2 miles. But he did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Merrill would like to do more activities, but it\u2019s a challenge with his schedule.<\/p>\n
After Vesper, 59, completes his 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift as a senior project engineer for the Kent Public Works Department, he drives to the Auburn Kidney Center each Tuesday and Thursday for nearly five hours of dialysis. Merrill, who has worked 35 years with the city, also drives to the kidney center for dialysis on Sundays from their Auburn home.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been his routine for five consecutive years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt works all right for me as long as I can go in the evenings,\u201d said Merill, in a recent interview at a conference room in the city\u2019s Centennial Building.<\/p>\n
Merill continues to work full-time despite the disease. He began dialysis at age 44, and received a kidney transplant in 1996. That transplant failed after six years, so he returned to dialysis. Now he\u2019s waiting for a second kidney transplant.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Tough for both Vespers<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s extremely long days,\u201d said Mary, 61, in a recent phone interview. \u201cHe gets home late at night and he\u2019s hungry and tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary noted she often gets asked how her husband handles a full schedule of 40-hour work weeks along with the steady dialysis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell them he\u2019s a courageous man,\u201d Mary said. \u201cHe looks at it as a medical condition and not a disability.\u201d<\/p>\n
The relationship between Merrill and Mary continues to grow stronger as they fight his kidney disease together.<\/p>\n
The couple met through a Seattle Weekly newspaper personal advertisement.<\/p>\n
Merrill placed the ad.<\/p>\n
Mary responded with a letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she sent in her letter, it didn\u2019t say much at all,\u201d Merrill said. \u201cBut I decided to give calling her a try. I called her up, we talked and I was quite ex-to meet her. Everything went good, we got together a couple of more times and pretty soon it got more serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now married for 22 years with one adult son, Merrill and Mary work as partners in the fight against his disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe always visits the doctors with me and has learned things about the disease,\u201d Merrill said. \u201cShe\u2019s there with me to talk things over with the doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n
During a recent doctor visit, Merrill complained _ something he rarely does _ that his body seemed more sore than normal. The doctor knew that despite the disease, Merrill prefers to do many of the household chores.<\/p>\n
\u201cMary could mow the lawn,\u201d the doctor told the couple.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Pushing for the summit<\/p>\n
An avid mountain climber, Mary Vesper stays plenty busy. Since she took up mountain climbing seven years ago, she has climbed 11 mountains, including Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Hood, Mount Baker and Mount St. Helens.<\/p>\n
The couple agreed long ago to support each other\u2019s activities, even if the other partner prefers to do something else. In addition to summiting mountains, Mary likes to rock-climb, roller skate and garden. Merrill likes to restore his two Dodge cars from the 1930s, as well as to collect coins and guns.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it would be good for her because she likes to do hiking,\u201d Merrill said, of supporting his wife\u2019s decision to take up mountain and rock climbing. \u201cI\u2019ve never done any of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary even climbs up onto the roof of the house to clean the gutters. She also ferries her husband to appointments if he feels too tired to drive, even though she doesn\u2019t like to drive.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s always supported me,\u201d Merrill said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Honored for his work<\/p>\n
Merrill Vesper changed his routine and treatment schedule on Aug. 5, so he could receive the City Employee of the Month award at the Kent City Council meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was sort of surprised, but kind of pleased,\u201d Vesper said of the honor.<\/p>\n
Kent residents rather than fellow workers nominated Vesper for the Employee of the Month award. West Hill residents nominated Vesper because of his hard work to always provide them with documents, coordinate meetings with city staff and make them feel like their voices were heard regarding whether to form a local improvement district to build sewers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey decided not to move ahead with the project so I guess they were happy,\u201d Vesper said. \u201cOne lady was always asking me questions through e-mails and meetings and I always responded to her. It\u2019s nice to be recognized that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t surprise Mary that her husband received the award.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anybody should get it, he should,\u201d she said. \u201cHe has the patience of Job.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fact the nomination came from residents made the award even more special.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s kind of the unsung hero,\u201d Mary said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A history with the city<\/p>\n
Merrill Vesper started work with the city in 1972. He applied for a drafting job, but ended up working as a junior engineer. He earned a civil engineering degree from the University of Washington and worked for a few months as a temporary engineer for a private consultant before taking the city job.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just seemed to work out,\u201d Vesper said of his 35 years with the city. \u201cThere\u2019s always work to do, so there\u2019s job security.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a senior project engineer, Vesper reviews plans done by others for new streets, sewers or buildings before the city puts the projects out to bid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always liked the variety,\u201d Vesper said.<\/p>\n
Merrill Vesper, who grew up in Tukwila, found out in his 20s that he had inherited kidney disease from his mother. Problems with his kidneys started in his 40s. He began dialysis at age 44.<\/p>\n
After two years on a transplant waiting list, Vesper received a kidney transplant in 1996. But when it failed, Vesper was back on dialysis routine.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople think once you get a transplant you\u2019re set,\u201d Mary said. \u201cBut there\u2019s a shelf life. We did not realize that fully.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vesper has waited three years for a second transplant. Doctors told him they could not give him any time estimate about how long he might have to wait.<\/p>\n
Nearly 77,000 people in the United States are on the waiting list for kidney transplants, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing Web site, www.unos.org. There were more than 16,000 kidney transplants in 2007, about 10,000 from deceased donors and 6,000 from living donors.<\/p>\n
The Vespers checked out whether Mary could be a donor, but she did not have a strong enough match.<\/p>\n
In addition to the dialysis, Merrill must closely watch his diet because of the numerous restrictions to anyone with kidney disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loves to eat fruits and veggies, but he has to have a limited amount,\u201d Mary said.<\/p>\n
Despite the kidney disease and his many years with the city, Vesper said he has no plans to retire.<\/p>\n
That continues to be a good decision for the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a dedicated employee,\u201d Mary said. \u201cHe\u2019s extremely loyal to the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the strong relationship between the couple goes on.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe supports me and the things I do even if it\u2019s things she\u2019s not interested in,\u201d Merrill said. \u201cAnd I support her in doing her things.\u201d<\/p>\n
But when Merrill has the energy, he will find a hike to they can take together, such as last weekend near Mount Rainier.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could really see the mountain,\u201d Merrill said. \u201cI try to get out, even though I\u2019m slow.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Because of Merrill Vesper\u2019s fight against kidney disease, the long hikes he and his wife first took together more than 20 years ago are out.
\nBut the city of Kent worker carefully researches hikes he still can take with Mary, his wife of 22 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":212,"featured_media":7119,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-7118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7118"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/212"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7118"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=7118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}