An autoimmune disease whisked stone mason Sean Moran into kidney failure. Then came meningitis and a coma.

The slow and steady recovery that followed, along with the family's cautious optimism, then got a jolt. Daughter Carrie Moran was in a serious car accident when her vehicle hydroplaned into a tree.

The Plumstead Township family lived in what Sean Moran's wife, Marlene, called on-and-off "medical mayhem." But a life-saving gift from wife to husband has put the havoc on hold.

Marlene Moran gave her husband a kidney in February a few days after Valentine's Day. In an usual occurrence, husband and wife were both a romantic and medical match.

Nearly 12 weeks after the surgery, Marlene and Sean Moran were doing well, and no signs of rejection have surfaced.

"He's started organizing to go back to work. We're going to kids' events," Marlene Moran said. "Our lives are back to normal."

The couple also are taking the first steps toward telling their story in increasingly public ways, and advocating for kidney disease awareness.

On May 1, the Morans appeared at a "High Heels Kick Out Kidney Disease" event at the King of Prussia Mall to help spread the word, particularly among women.

"Fortunately for some people, having a transplant is an option, but first you must pass a rigorous evaluation process . . . ," Sean Moran said before a crowd of about 100.

"If you successfully pass this process, you must wait, sometimes five years for a kidney unless, like me, you are lucky enough to have a donor." With that, he introduced his "incredible wife, Marlene."

Kidney disease affects one in nine people, or approximately 26 million people in the nation, said Jennifer Wolf, development director of the National Kidney Foundation branch in Center City that serves the Philadelphia region. Seventeen people die each day 17 in the United States while waiting for transplanted vital organs, including kidney, heart, liver, pancreas and lung, Wolf said.

The first sign that Sean Moran, 46, had a problem came after he banged his leg at a party in 2001. The pain and swelling wouldn't go away.

Blood tests revealed Moran had contracted an autoimmune disorder called microscopic polyangiitis, which left him with "very, very poor kidney function," said Moran's physician, Melchiore Vernace, a nephrologist and hypertension specialist in Doylestown.

Doctors decided to treat him with high doses of steroids and chemotherapy-like drugs. But with his autoimmune system compromised, Moran contracted meningitis, lapsed into a coma, and nearly died.

It was left to Marlene Moran, 47, to juggle crises and the mundane. She also had to deal with her work as an executive assistant, the family's dwindling finances, daughters then 10 and 12 years old, and her elderly mother, who was living with them.

During 2002, Sean Moran recovered from the meningitis and went on dialysis. His automimmune disease also went into a kind of remission, and he regained enough kidney function to stop the taxing, thrice-weekly, four-hour dialysis sessions.

He was back at work in 2005 as a self-employed stone mason when the Morans' teenage daughter, Carrie, was in a car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.

"All this stuff we've been through doesn't hold a candle to seeing your kid in the hospital," Sean Moran said. "It took months and months, but she's really well."

The, came years of relatively mayhem- and havoc-free health until last fall, when doctors discovered Moran had again lost kidney function.

This time, doctors recommended a transplant, and the couple went to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for an evaluation.

"Somebody asked, 'Has anybody brought a possible donor with them?' " said Sean Moran, who didn't know he had a donor until his wife spoke up and said "yes."

"I just figured I would, even though we never talked about it," Marlene Moran said. Research shows that transplants from living donors generally have better outcomes. The couple's daughters - Carrie, 20, and Kate, 18 - offered to donate, but both parents felt they were too young.

Once the couple were found to be a match, there was counseling.

"Lots of emotional weirdness can come with it," Marlene Moran said. "They wanted to make sure I was psychologically prepared and there wouldn't be times I was thinking 'Oh, he's drinking a beer - and he's got my kidney!' "

They had surgery on Feb. 19.

"I was freaking out," Kate Moran said. "You only have two parents, and both of them going in for major surgery is a hard thing to deal with."

The Morans were out in three days. Friends and relatives helped them with chores as they recovered. A feeling of normalcy has begun to return. But the questions are there.

What if he rejects the kidney? What happens if he needs another transplant?

"You just have to hope for the best," Sean Moran said.

Marlene Moran said bluntly, "We don't want to go there. We don't want to think about it."

In the meantime, the Morans and their daughters are moving on to the next stage. The Morans will be empty nesters soon as Kate and Carrie grow up and move out. They say their ordeal has given them a jump-start on the adjustment process by strengthening their commitment.

And, the Morans are speaking out on kidney disease to help raise awareness.

"Giving a kidney gave him back his life, and it's such a great thing," Marlene Moran said. "We want to let people know they have the ability to do that for someone."

For Information

To learn more about kidney disease, organ transplants, or becoming an organ donor, visit online at www.nkfdv.org online, or call 215-923-8611 or toll-free at 800-697-7007.