Butler County police chief’s kidney transplant a success, family says

Ross Twp. Police Chief Darryl Haussler’s kidney transplant today was a success and both patients are recovering nicely, according to his family. 
Haussler’s wife said both her husband and his kidney donor, Maria Wessel, are doing well after today's surgery. 
“The kidney transplant was a success. The kidney started working immediatly,” she said. “Both Maria and Darryl are recovering well.”

Haussler, 53, suffers from a rare, painful and incurable disease called scleroderma, and now his three-times-a week dialysis appointments appear to be a thing of his past. That’s because Wessel — who works with Haussler’s wife at US Bank and goes to their church in Cleves — donated one of her kidneys to the police chief.

The surgery was at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and both patients are doing well, according to Debbie Haussler’s post on her Facebook page.

According to the Mayo Clinic, scleroderma is a group of rare diseases that involve the hardening and tightening of the skin and connective tissues — the fibers that provide the framework and support for the body.

In some people, scleroderma affects only the skin. But in others, like Haussler, scleroderma also harms structures beyond the skin, such as blood vessels, internal organs and the digestive tract.

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