A South Dakota priest, the Rev. Mercy Hobbs, has donated a kidney to her bishop, the Rt. Rev. Creighton Robertson. On Dec. 2, surgeons at the Rochester Methodist Hospital in Rochester, Minn., transplanted her donated kidney to Bishop Robertson, who for more than year has maintained a vigorous work schedule despite being on dialysis three times a week.

Bishop Robertson’s family reports that both he and Ms Hobbs are “doing well.” Recovery for Ms Hobbs, vicar of the Church of Our Most Merciful Savior in Santee, S.D., and Dean of the Eastern Deanery, will probably require several weeks.

Bishop Robertson, who is recuperating at the Gift of Life Transplant House in Rochester, will be under doctors’ care for several months, and hopes to return home to Sioux Falls once his condition has stabilized.

In a note posted on the electronic bulletin board of the hospital, Ann Robertson, the bishop’s wife, wrote, “It’s a good day! Creighton and Mercy are both doing well. When I arrived at the hospital I found Creighton up walking around. His pain is completely managed, and his new kidney is working perfectly with the best possible result.” Mrs. Robertson reported that Ms Hobbs “is feeling great too. Her pain is minimal and being managed well,” she said.

In addition to recovering from triple bypass heart surgery and suffering from the discomfort of dialysis, Bishop Robertson and his family have also had to confront the discovery of a serious illness in their son, Joe. Doctors thought they had identified Joe as a suitable donor match for Bishop Robertson last winter, but after extensive pre-operative tests a few weeks before the Jan. 20 surgery date, they ruled him out after they discovered that he had early-stage symptoms of a treatable autoimmune disorder. Last report was that Joe was also responding well to treatment.

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