Making Her Move Howell Woman Relocating to Florida in Hopes of Finding Kidney Donor
By Lon Medd
Livingston Daily

Sharon Bullard just wants to live, even if that means moving away from the home where she has lived for the past 35 years.

“I made the most wonderful friends and I’m going to miss them,” said Bullard, talking about moving out of Howell.

But Bullard has no other choice but to move. She has polycystic kidney disease, which is a genetic disorder characterized by the growth of numerous cysts in the kidneys. The cysts are filled with fluid.

These cysts can slowly replace much of the mass of the kidneys, reducing kidney function and leading to kidney failure.

“I want to stay alive,” she said.

Bullard is in search for a donor kidney, which means she would have to get her name on a waiting list of about five years in Michigan.

However, in Florida the wait is about a year. With time not on her side, Bullard is leaving for Jacksonville with the hope that sometime next year, she can get the kidney transplant she needs.

Even though she has to leave home, Bullard is excited for the opportunity in Florida. Bullard’s son, Ray, is building an addition to his home for her and husband, Bob, to move into.

People in her family have volunteered to donate kidneys, but Bullard is concerned about their own health. Bob offered to donate his kidney, but he is considered too old.

So why is Florida’s waiting list shorter than Michigan’s? Bullard said the lack of a motorcycle helmet law is a big reason.

“Do you know what they call motorcycle riders in Florida?” Bullard asked. “They are called ‘organ donors.’ ”
Bullard goes to the Brighton Dialysis Center every other day, and she has already talked to people who have moved to states where the waiting list for kidneys is much shorter than Michigan’s. She knows of a person who moved to Nevada and received a kidney in just a few weeks.

One of the people in Howell who will miss Bullard the most will be Denise Down, the owner of Down Home Interiors in downtown Howell. Bullard has worked for Down for the last year and a half.

“The customers love her,” Down said. “She is very loved by everybody here. We have customers who come in every day, asking when she will be back.”

To show her appreciation for Bullard, Down is throwing a going-away party for her from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday at the store, 110 W. Grand River Ave., Howell.

The amount of love for his wife from the community doesn’t surprise Bob.

“She is an amazing woman,” he said. “She is not mean, not snobbish, and good with people. Her personality just attracts people.” .