By KEITH UPCHURCH

kupchurch@heraldsun.com; 419-6612

DURHAM -- "The only gift is a portion of thyself," wrote Emerson.

Daniel Terry of Durham took that pearl of wisdom to heart recently when he donated a kidney to his mother, who was suffering kidney failure.

Now, the gift that keeps giving has brought new life to Barbara J. Briggs, 73, who is enjoying a freedom she hasn't known for years.

Briggs had the surgery at Duke Hospital last month after screening tests showed she was a good match with her son, 52.

The surgery went well, and Terry was back at work in a week. His mother was released from the hospital Wednesday and is back at home, looking forward to a much higher quality of life.

Briggs started suffering kidney failure about two years ago and began dialysis a year ago.

"That was going fairly well and then my son said: 'Well, I can give you a kidney.' "

After a battery of tests, surgery was performed Sept. 21.

"We both came in the hospital together at 5 a.m, and they took him to one room and me to another. And they took his kidney out laproscopically. They examined it and then about 40 minutes later, they slipped it into my belly.

"And it's just miraculous," she said. "I can pee now. You don't know how much you'll miss something until you can't do it."

Briggs can now eat a wider variety of foods and looks forward to more energy.

"I'm just very, very excited," she said. "My son is doing wonderful. I get teary just thinking about what he gave me. It's such a miraculous gift."

Children donating kidneys to a parent make up a fairly small portion of kidney transplants, but are not uncommon. Last year, for example, 1,009 adult children donated a kidney to a parent, according to the National Kidney Foundation. In 2008, 16,519 transplants were done with kidneys from both living and deceased donors, according to the foundation.

Briggs is retired from the U.S. Army Research Office in Research Triangle Park, but does some massage therapy part-time. She loves the freedom of being off dialysis.

She's also gotten support from her daughter, Lynn Peele of Greensboro, who has participated in efforts to raise money for kidney research.

"I love to promote the idea of giving a kidney," Briggs said.

Her son agrees.

Terry said people should consider being an organ donor if they can.

"It's probably the greatest gift," he said. "What better gift could you give anyone?"