BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DAYTON, Ky. -- Lutha Fields is beating the odds. Again.
This time, her determination is buying her a brand new home. Ms. Fields, a double transplant recipient and a mother, celebrated the groundbreaking of her Habitat for Humanity home on Saturday with 100 of the people who will help put the structure together. "It's nice to know that all these people came out and are willing to help," Ms. Fields said after the ceremony.
Her son Dakota, 3, stood nearby, still turning over piles of dirt with his miniature-sized gold shovel. "He loves to dig," Ms. Fields said.
The Habitat home will be built during five days, from Oct. 22 to Oct. 27. It will sit across the street from Dayton's floodwall, with a view of downtown Cincinnati.
The project is sponsored by Cincinnati Bell Wireless, which donated $42,000 toward the cost of the home. More than 250 employees will also volunteer their time.
Politicians, dignitaries and volunteers sat in white chairs on the vacant lot at 516 Second St., where the Fields' one-level, two bedroom cottage will be built. John Doharty donated the land. Former Bengal Boomer Esiason called and talked to the crowd on a speaker phone. He even sent along a football jersey for Dakota. "I know how important this is," Mr. Esiason said. "And I want to thank Dakota for wearing my jersey and making sure people remember me there."
Dayton Mayor Bob Crittenden welcomed Ms. Fields and her son to the neighborhood and encouraged them to meet their neighbors. To earn her Habitat home, Ms. Fields has spent the last year working on other Habitat projects, helping other families hang drywall, rake yards, load and unload trucks and turn their new houses into homes. She has volunteered 300 hours of service and will complete another 200 hours during the building of her home to be able to buy the house through a 20-year interest-free mortgage.
Ms. Fields said owning a home will help her plan and lead a more stable life.
Ms. Fields' 22-year battle with diabetes led to blindness, kidney failure and dialysis treatments. In 1992 she underwent a dual pancreas and kidney transplant.
The operation meant she was no longer diabetic.
Then Ms. Fields became pregnant, putting herself in a high-risk situation. In 1995, Ms. Fields gave birth to Dakota and became only the seventh woman in the world to survive a double transplant and later deliver a healthy baby, doctors say.
"Without organ donation I wouldn't be here," Mr. Fields said. "Without my son I wouldn't have a purpose. And without everyone who's helped me, I wouldn't be who I am."
