Sun-Times Writer Waits for a New Heart

Lacy Banks usually writes about the Bull’s game-winning basket or the Blackhawk’s defense for the Chicago Sun-Times, but since April 2008 he’s also covered his personal health. Lacy is in need of a heart transplant and is on the waiting list at the Mayo Clinic.  Through blog posts, Lacy has been sharing his battle with cancer and his wait for a life-saving transplant. It’s been a journey and Lacy has courageously shared his battles throughout the process, which may soon be coming to an end. We wish him a short wait and a quick recovery!

-Nick

Join the Swim Team- Transplant Recipient Bill Coon Releases Book

Many of you are familiar with Bill Coon as he shared his experience waiting for a heart and kidney transplant with the DLI blog readers. Many of us followed the emotional and physical struggles a transplant patient experiences through news stories and Bill’s personal updates. Bill is now sharing his story with the world. SWIM: A Memoir of Survival will be released soon. He introduces the book and his blog below.

-Nick

Hey DLI blog followers,

I am very excited and pleased to announce that my book, SWIM: A Memoir of Survival will be released this month! I say “this month” because due to technical issues, it may not be on Amazon by the date I had hoped it to be. I was originally shooting for September 13, 2010. In anticipation of the release, I began a blog entitled, “13 Days of SWIM.”

Each day I give either an insider’s view into the creation of the book, or sneak peeks at some of my entries.

SWIM: A Memoir of Survival tells the story of my battle with end-stage heart and kidney failure. At the onset of my illness I began writing my thoughts as a form of personal therapy. After writing for two weeks, I realized that if I were to survive, my words could someday be a means of support and motivation to someone who found themselves in my situation.

The book takes you into my hospital room and follows me through my work-up to get on the organ recipient list, and my eventual 58 day wait. During those 58 days, I fought through countless procedures. I took an emotional and spiritual trip into my own mind, and walked out of the hospital a changed man. I would later return home, where I would find myself grieving over the fact that someone had to die for me to be living. However, in the end, I would find peace. I would look back on everything I had been through, smile and say, “Knowing what I know now, I would do it all over again.”

I hope you’re ready to SWIM…

Please feel free to check out my blog entries. If you are interested in learning about the books release, please join my SWIM TEAM to receive a reminder.

I hope you enjoy my blog!

Bill Coon

Kudos and Congratulations!

Congratulations are in order for a the following Illinoisans who have contributed greatly to the promotion of organ and tissue donation.

Kudos to Kendall from Wheaton, a Readers’ Choice Nominee for Glamour‘s Women of the Year award. At 17-years-old, Kendall has already received two liver transplants and was inspired to help other teens while in the hospital. As a result, Kendall started the non-profit Kids Caring 4 Kids, an organization that  raises funds for children and teens living in poverty in Africa.

You can read more about Kendall’s story and vote for her here.

Rush University Medical Center has named the kidney transplant nurse coordinators as Team of the Year. Members of the team play an invaluable role in the pre- and post-kidney transplant process, insuring a positive transplant experience and providing quality care to all transplant patients. Congrats to this excellent team of nurses!

-Nick

Following in Samantha’s Footsteps

Tim Joos, a Donate Life Illinois volunteer, has been making headlines in the past few months due to his decision to further save and enhance lives through living donation. In today’s post, Tim shares his donation experience. Thank you, Tim, for sharing your experience! -Joslyn

In November of 2003, our 17-year-old daughter, Samantha, was killed in an automobile accident on her way to school during a heavy rain storm.  We knew that Sam wanted to be a donor because we had discussed the topic immediately after she received her driver’s license.   Due to the severity of the accident, she was not able to donate her major organs, but was able to donate many of her tissues.  Her heart valves saved one life and her other tissues have improved many lives (23 so far).

As anyone who has lost a child knows, your life will change in many significant ways.  You also need to find ways to deal with the immense feeling of loss.  Volunteering for Gift of Hope and Donate Life Illinois has allowed me the opportunity to keep Samantha’s memory alive and “give back” at the same time.

I have been speaking to groups about organ & tissue donation and sharing Sam’s story of donation for over four years now.  In doing so, I discuss both living and deceased donation.  I explain the impact we can all have by donating blood, bone marrow, a kidney, or a piece of our liver while we are still alive.  After having this discussion many times, I started asking myself why I wasn’t doing more and decided to pursue being a living kidney donor.

I contacted a Transplant Coordinator at Loyola in Maywood to begin my donation journey.  After an initial screening to make sure I was an acceptable kidney donor candidate, I began going through a process that would include every medical test known to man (at least it seemed that way) and would take months to complete.  Finally, I passed all the tests and was ready; I just needed a matching recipient.

Unknown to me, there were two other altruistic (or “good Samaritan”) donors going through the process at the same time as me and the kidney transplant surgeons at Loyola were developing a proposal for a national kidney donation chain called “Pay It Forward”.  The program was announced at the end of March via a press conference held at Loyola.

Basically, a chain consists of an altruistic donor and pairs of recipients and non-matching donors (usually friends or relatives of the potential recipient).  The difference between Loyola’s program and the typical chain is that the National Kidney Registry is coordinating the matching process with donors and recipients across the country instead of just looking within a single transplant center.

My donation surgery occurred at 2:00 AM on Tuesday, May 11th.  This time was picked to allow the chain to complete three links on the same day.  My left kidney went to a woman in Harrisburg, PA.  Her willing donor’s kidney went to a recipient in California.  Their willing donor’s kidney went to a recipient somewhere else in Pennsylvania.  Transporting the kidneys is a lot more efficient than transporting the patients allowing three successful transplants in a single day spanning the country twice.

One of the most common questions asked is about the recovery for a kidney donor.  The official recommendation consists of two things:
1.Don’t lift anything weighing more than 15 pounds for six weeks.
2.If it hurts, don’t do it.  (A good rule of thumb for us all.)

In my case, I was taking 3-mile walks after 2 weeks, 20-mile bicycle rides after 4 weeks, and back to riding my Harley after 5 weeks.

It is a very rewarding feeling knowing that I’ve helped someone in need and gotten them off of kidney dialysis.  I also feel like I’m following in Samantha’s footsteps and that she would be proud of me.

If you’re in excellent health and would like to share that feeling, contact a transplant center near you.

-Tim