If He's Deported, She Can't Get Kidney Transplant
Wife needs jailed husband to care for her after surgery

Published on 8/31/2008


New Britain (AP) - A Connecticut congressman has stepped in to advocate for a New Britain woman who risks losing her chance at a kidney transplant if federal officials follow through with plans to deport her husband to his native Poland.

Vivian Nowakowski, 43, who has been on dialysis for 14 years, says doctors have told her she cannot have the transplant unless her husband, Andrzej, will be home to care for her during her long recovery.

However, 43-year-old Andrzej Nowakowski sits in a federal prison awaiting deportation to Poland after being arrested earlier this year after applying for a new green card.

The federal government says Andrzej Nowakowski violated terms of his residency in the U.S. because he was convicted and imprisoned over the years on robbery and drug possession charges, most recently in 2005.

The Nowakowskis appealed the deportation decision, but learned Friday that the appeal had been denied.

Without her husband at home as the family's primary caregiver, Vivian Nowakowski said she is trying to handle her own health issues while taking care of her 69-year-old diabetic father.

Federal officials say immigration laws are very clear, however.

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