DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Brothers Rami and Mohammed Haidar each grew up facing the same struggle against the rare Alport Syndrome kidney disease,  but each got a new lease on life when they received new kidneys just a month apart in the summer of 2009.

But things took a turn for the worse when Mohammed’s new kidney, from a cadaver, was quickly rejected by his body and had to be taken out.

His brother called that day the saddest of his life, but afterward the search began anew for a kidney that would help Mohammed put an end to the kind of persistent health problems that most people have never known.

These days, Rami Haidar, 23,  is back in good health, back up to a normal weight and back to living a normal life, which gives his brother Mohammed hope that a new kidney from a living donor can do the same for him.

“It helps him feel better that his brother has gotten better after he received his kidney, it really does,” his mother Raeda Haidar said.

The current routine for Mohammed, 19, involves four hours of dialysis treatments three hours a week where he is surrounded by almost all elderly patients. He also endures constant hospital visits and medications.

He continues to show courage and toughness, saying he’s used to dealing with his health issues by now,  but concern remains among his family. Serious complications could begin to arise in the next few years if he doesn’t get a kidney soon.

Sherry Lodwig, who became the Haidar family’s “angel” when she donated her kidney to Rami after hearing about his need from his uncle Ali Charara at the Body Blitz Gym she used to work at, is helping to spread the word about the need for a new donor for Mohammed. She said the procedure made her sore for two weeks but she has had no complications since giving up one of her two kidneys. She was out of the hospital in four days.

“Anybody can donate if they have willingness and faith,” she said. “When I donated mine, I did fine.”

Mohammed recently was placed on a waiting list for a new kidney but the average wait is 5-7 years, which has caused Lodwig and the Haidar family to ramp up their efforts to find a donor.

She said she has been treated “like a saint” or a hero in her Schaefer Road-area  Dearborn neighborhood which is mostly Arab American, but said she just wanted to help any way she could and disagrees with those honors. 

Prior to donating her kidney, Lodwig underwent about five months of testing before it was determined that she was a match. 

According to Raeda Haidar, many of the people she’s met in hospitals who were in need have received kidneys of their own within 2-3 months of asking, but there is still much fear and trepidation in the Arab American community about being a donor.

“In the Arabic culture it seems people are scared, they stay away,” she said. “If it wasn’t for Sherry I don’t know what would have happened.”

Lodwig and the Haidars have continued to hope and pray for a new donor, but impatience has begun to set in. They plan to create a Facebook group and to continue their search for the Haidars’ next “angel” to come along and give the gift of health back to Mohammed, who recently graduated from Crestwood High School.

“He is the sweetest, most unpretentious young man, he doesn’t ask for anything and he’s not materialistic,” Lodwig said.

While Mohammed continues to make the best of the situation, his condition certainly isn’t improving and setbacks are common. .

“Put it this way, the sooner the better, from what I’ve seen and read,” Lodwig said, when asked how important it is for Mohammed to receive a new kidney.

For those who wish to help and have an A-blood type, the Haidar family can be reached at 313.220.6000 or 313.289.7984.