In the fall of 2022, Professor of Philosophy Julia Ireland ’90 (pictured, left) barely recognized herself. Diagnosed with chronic kidney disease despite being otherwise healthy, she was fighting for her life—and running out of options.
A natural leader, Ireland’s declining health had forced her to step down as President of the Heidegger Association and Chairman of the Walla Walla Public Library Board. Robbed of the energy to write, publish or even have dinner with friends, “My life contracted to where all I could do was teach and walk my dog,” she says.
Facing a five-year wait for a cadaver kidney, Ireland began planning a medical leave to start kidney dialysis. While she braced herself for a life that looked nothing like the rich, vibrant one she’d spent decades building, a colleague across campus couldn’t shake the feeling she was meant to help.
Although Ireland had known and liked Executive Assistant to the President Joanie Lucarelli (pictured, right) for more than 10 years, the two were not close friends. So when they crossed paths on campus in August 2022 and Ireland revealed she was in dire need of a kidney transplant, they were both surprised by what happened next.
Read the full story in the Spring 2024 issue of Whitman Magazine.
