Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Thankful For His Good Health, Memphis Priest Willingly Shares in 'Act of Gratitude'

The following article is from The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, TN:

Kidney transplant recipient Ed Garavelli and kidney donor Father Val Handwerker, recovering from their Nov. 8 surgeries, are back at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, where they join in prayer with Tobia Fuller, a member of the church's Pastoral Council.

By the time parishioners, parents, students and staff at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception got Father Val's e-mail that Tuesday morning, Nov. 8, he was already in surgery.

"Peace in the Lord!" read the e-mail from Rev. Valentine Handwerker, a 63-year-old Catholic priest who lives his life as if every day should end with an exclamation point.

"I want to go over something with you. Often times I speak about stewardship. As you know, stewardship first and foremost is gratitude to God for the gifts and blessings entrusted to us. Out of that gratitude to God, then, we are called as stewards to use these gifts and blessings not only for ourselves but also for the good of others."

In 2009, Father Val became Monsignor Val, an honor bestowed on him by the Pope at the request of Bishop J. Terry Steib of Memphis. The title is from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord."
Handwerker, the son of Kathleen and Vallie Handwerker of North Memphis, is one of the community's leading advocates for social justice, and still prefers the title Father Val.

"Throughout my life God has blessed me with excellent health. In ministry I am often with persons who face serious illness. Being with them only reinforces the blessings of health which I have received. Over time I have been drawn to use my health also for the benefit of others."

On Dec. 16, 2009, Father Val sat at his kitchen table and read a newspaper article about 13 patients who received new kidneys from donors they didn't know. It was the world's largest kidney exchange. "It's not like I'm doing anything courageous," one of the donors told The Associated Press. "If I don't donate, who will?"

As the article noted, there are about 90,000 people on a national waiting list for a kidney transplant.

About 17,000 kidney transplants are performed each year -- about 5,000 from living donors.

"I need to do this," Father Val thought as he read the article. Over the next several months, he thought about it and prayed about it. Earlier this year, he told his doctor he wanted to donate one of his kidneys to someone -- anyone -- who needed it.

"Out of prayer and discernment I have decided to be a living kidney donor. I have gone over that decision with my spiritual director. I have also sought the permission to be a living kidney donor from Bishop Steib. I am very grateful for his support throughout this process, and that recently Bishop Steib celebrated with me the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick."

The sacrament, also known as Extreme Unction or Last Rites, is no longer administered only to the dying, but also to those who are gravely ill or about to undergo a serious operation. As it says in James 5:14-15, "Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man."
On Sunday Oct. 30, Bishop Steib administered the sacrament to Father Val in a private ceremony with a few others at the Midtown Cathedral. On Sunday Nov. 6, Father Val administered the sacrament to the man who would receive one of his kidneys.

". . . In the beginning of this process I knew that I wanted to donate a kidney and was very open to placing this donation on the National Kidney Registry for my kidney to be given to an undesignated recipient in need of a transplant. During the testing process, however, I realized that a Cathedral parishioner with a serious kidney illness might need a kidney donor."

About a dozen years ago, around the time Father Val became rector of the Cathedral, Ed Garavelli, then 50 years old, was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease, which usually leads to kidney failure.
Ed's kidney function began to decline gradually, then rapidly. About two years ago, Ed was placed on the kidney transplant waiting list, and was told it might take three to five years to get one.
"I was pretty sure I didn't have five years," Ed said.

". . . I knew that Ed already had a prospective kidney donor. I later learned that, during the medical tests, the prospective kidney donor found out that he was not a suitable candidate to donate a kidney. At the same time I learned how serious Ed's kidney failure is. Presently his kidneys are functioning only at 11%. As soon as I received word that I passed all the medical tests and am able to be a living kidney donor, I went to Ed and Jerri. Before that they had no idea that I was interested in being a living kidney donor. I then asked Ed if I could be his kidney donor."

Ed, the founder of Pinnacle Press, couldn't bring himself to ask anyone he knew to be a living donor, but a few offered to be tested. Ed's wife, Jerri, wasn't a match for his type B-positive blood. Her sister was, but then she developed kidney stones. High blood pressure eliminated two close friends.

About a week after the fourth potential donor fell through, Father Val called. He wanted to come to the house and talk.

"I thought he was going to ask us for a donation," Jerri said. "Instead he was bringing us one."

Ed, who like Father Val is 63, shook his head. "What can you say about a gift like that?"

"This morning, Tuesday, November 8th, Ed and I shall undergo surgery during which one of my kidneys will be transplanted to his body. It was only four days ago that the surgeons and specialists of the Transplant Institute at Methodist University Hospital gave their final approval for Ed and me to proceed with this surgery."

Surgeons removed Father Val's healthy left kidney and placed it in the right side of Ed's body. Each procedure took about two hours.

"Did it work?" Father Val asked Jerri as he was being wheeled to his room after surgery.
It did, Jerri assured him. "He was so delighted," she said. "He was like a little kid who had just given someone his favorite toy."

Ed jokes that he knows the recovery process won't be easy.

"Especially for me," Ed said. "If Father Val wants a favor, it's not like I can turn him down. I have this feeling I'll be washing a priest's car every week for the rest of my life."

"My surgeon, Dr. James Eason, thinks that I should be totally recovered from the surgery within two months. Hopefully I look forward to returning to the parish on a part-time basis in a few days."

After the surgeries, Ed bet Father Val an Italian dinner that he would be the first to return to Mass at the Cathedral.

They tied.

Last Sunday, when Ed and Jerri arrived for 10 a.m. Mass, Father Val was there as well.

"I'm grateful to be celebrating Mass with you this morning," the priest said. "I'm awed by what it means to be one body of Christ linked together."

He was speaking to the entire congregation but he was looking at Ed and Jerri.

". . . We thank all those who have made this possible, and we are very appreciative for the expertise and care by the medical staff of the Transplant Institute at Methodist University Hospital."

Parishioners are calling Father Val's gift a living homily.

"For many of us it brought forth the question, 'What am I giving back to others of our time, talents and treasures?'" said Dr. Gene Mangiante, a parishioner and a professor of surgery at the UT Health Science Center.

Steib said he considers "Monsignor Val's act of kindness to be heroic and life-saving."

Father Val sees his donation as an act of gratitude.

"Everything we have is a gift from God," he said, "a gift to share with others."

"I also want to thank Father Kris Rusin (and other 'visiting' priests), the Cathedral staff and other parishioners for 'covering' for me during my absence. I ask that you pray that Ed's body accepts his new kidney. Please pray for Ed's complete recovery, and mine."

While Father Val and Ed were in surgery, students at IC Cathedral School were praying the rosary. They had known that one teacher's husband was receiving a kidney, but they hadn't known who the donor was until that day.

"You could have heard a pin drop when we told them," said IC principal Karen Gephart. "This is such a great lesson in compassion."

Earlier in the school year, Jerri Garavelli was talking to her fifth-graders about her husband's pending transplant. They were curious about kidneys so she showed them a chart of the human body and explained how kidneys work.

One child asked why people have two kidneys.

"So we can give one away," another child replied.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Intermountain Healthcare Celebrates Kidney Transplant Milestone

The following article is from KSL.com Utah. To watch a video of this interview, visit the KSL Utah website.

History in the making, a cause for celebration, and a reason to give thanks: That's the way doctors with Intermountain Medical Center announced the 1,000th living donor kidney transplant on Monday.

The news was that much sweeter because the 1,000th was Pam Sheppard, who donated a kidney to her husband, Lee. "Believe me," he said, "we were a perfect match in marriage. Now we are a perfect match again."

On Thanksgiving last year, Lee and Pam Sheppard found themselves in an emergency room, followed by emergency removal of both of Lee's kidneys. Lee had been diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease 11 years prior, which killed with his father and grandfather.

In 2010, doctors had told Lee his kidneys would only last about a year. But large, dark cysts soon caused severe pain for Lee and brought concern about cancer from the doctors. Following the surgery, Lee began dialysis and Pam began to ponder giving him her kidney. "It was amazing how many lovely people came out of the woodwork and volunteered their kidneys," she said. "It's not something that's easy to say ‘thank you' to when somebody offers you such a great gift. I felt so privileged that I became the best match."

"How overwhelmingly grateful I am for my wife for making such a sacrifice," Lee said. "We feel so liberated and energized for what the future holds, so we're deeply grateful." "We already enjoyed a rich love together," Lee added, "but this last year, which has been a journey, has reinforced it in such a way that it's hard to put a finger on it."

Dr. James Stinson, a nephrologist at Intermountain Medical Center, recalled the first such donation, 28 years ago, when sister gave a kidney to her brother. "It freed him from dialysis and gave him many years of life that he would not otherwise have had," Stinson said.

He also praised the medical team and staff who coordinate to make successful transplants possible. Want to be a donor? Dr. Diane Alonso, a surgeon with the Intermountain Transplant Team, said Monday's milestone recognizes the courage and generosity of the human spirit. "It cements that living donation is a vial source of organs, not only in this state, but in the country," Alonso said.

"At our institution, 50 percent of our kidney donations are from live donors." That cuts down on the wait time for a kidney. In Utah, patients wait an average 10 months for a transplant. In California, however, the wait can be up to five or six years. Six months before she was cleared as a match, doctors discovered Pam had nodes on her lungs, so there were more tests to find out if she had cancer.

By mid-October 2011, she became the official donor. Lee and Pam went into surgery together and came out together. They could be seen walking the halls, pulling their IV stands and holding hands. "This is a thousand live donors whose lives have been turned around, and they can again feel like they can contribute to society. That's just fabulous." Pam said.

And with a bright smile, she added, "It'll be a much better Thanksgiving than the last one." "That's for sure," Lee echoed. Anyone can be screened to find out if they are a match for a patient who needs a kidney or a liver. Intermountain Medical Center's transplant team has performed 31 of these so-called "Good Samaritan" surgeries since 2002.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Great American Smokeout



Tomorrow marks the American Cancer Society's 36th annual Great American Smokeout!

Take this time to encourage smokers to make a plan to quit. By doing so, they will be taking an important step toward a healthier life--one that can lead to reducing cancer risk.

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the U.S., yet more than 46 million Americans still smoke. However, more than half of these smokers have attempted to quit for at least one day in the past year. Quitting is hard, but you can increase your chances of success with help.

The American Cancer Society can tell you about the steps you can take to quit smoking and provide the resources and support that can increase your chances of quitting successfully. To learn about the available tools, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 or visit the ACS website.

Friday, November 11, 2011

NFT Patient Orlan Holmes on Fort Wayne News

The following article is from FortWayneHomepage.net:

More than 100,000 people across the U.S. are in need of an organ transplant, and one local man is using his story to encourage others to donate. Orlan Holmes is in need of a rare double-lung transplant due to a severe case of COPD.

The operation and aftercare will cost more than $600-thousand, but his insurance will only cover a portion of the costs. On Wednesday, the Sunshine Cafe on Coldwater Road held a benefit for Holmes -- contributing 10-percent of its earnings to his recovery fund. Holmes is also encouraging others to consider becoming organ donors.

To see Orlan's interview with local reporters, visit FortWayneHomepage.net.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

November is Diabetes Awareness Month

With nearly 26 million children and adults in America living with diabetes, and another 79 million at high risk for developing type-2 diabetes, the disease is taking a devastating physical, emotional and financial toll on our country. Yet, most Americans don't consider diabetes a serious matter. They feel it is someone else's responsibility, someone else's problem.

Recent numbers by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal just how serious this issue is: 
  • Every 17 seconds, someone is diagnosed with diabetes. 
  • Diabetes kills more people each year than breast cancer and AIDS combined. 
  • Recent estimates project that as many as 1 in 3 American adults will have diabetes in 2050 unless we take steps to stop diabetes.
Visit the American Diabetes Association for more information. 

Friday, November 4, 2011

Chris Klug Enters Ski Hall of Fame

The following article is from the Aspen Daily News:

Chris Klug
 Aspen’s Chris Klug, the three-time Olympian and liver transplant recipient, will be inducted into the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame tonight, where he’ll be honored for his groundbreaking career and inspirational life.

“It’s a great honor,” Klug said Thursday. “I’m really excited about it. It’s been fun to reflect on the last 30 years.”
 
Klug said he’s spent time in recent days reminiscing with his mother, Aspen High counselor Kathy Klug, his father, Aspen Square general manager Warren Klug, and his wife, Melissa, about his life on snow.

Some of his fondest memories, he said, are of his days snowboarding in the early ’80s as the sport was emerging, when he duct-taped Moon Boots to a crude Burton board and schlepped to races in his parents’ Wagoneer.

Those early days of the sport led Klug into 20 years of World Cup competition, which concluded last year with his 11th U.S. title. He competed in snowboard racing’s first appearance in the Winter Olympics, in Nagano, Japan, in 1998.

Two years later, he received a lifesaving liver transplant to treat a rare disease with which he’d been diagnosed in the early 1990s.

He returned to racing after his recovery and in 2002, became the first organ transplant recipient ever to compete in the Olympics while also winning a bronze medal.

He founded the Chris Klug Foundation in 2003 to spread awareness and raise money for organ donation, and continues to devote much of his time to the cause. Klug then chronicled his story in the 2004 memoir, “To the Edge and Back.”

Last year, he competed in the Olympics for the third time, in Vancouver.

At tonight’s ceremony, Klug will be joined by his family, including his 6-month-old daughter, Bali, along with his longtime coach, Rob Roy, and teammate Ian Price.

The family of the teenage gunshot victim who gave Klug his new liver, he said, also will be traveling to Colorado from Idaho for the event.

At 38, the freshly-retired Klug is among the youngest athletes the Hall of Fame has inducted.

While he said he plans to attend the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia as a commentator, he’s loath to rule out racing.

“I truly believe if I put my mind to it I could compete at the highest level in Russia,” he said. “But there are so many other things I want to do right now.”

Indeed, though Klug’s not in race training these days he is certainly no slouch. Over the last year, he’s competed in the Aspen area’s toughest endurance and mountaineering events — from the Elk Mountains Grand Traverse, to the summer and winter Power of Four competitions, to the Leadville 100 bike race.

“I’m going to keep challenging myself with these mountaineering adventures,” he said. “So I’m not done yet.”

Since giving up the itinerant schedule of a competitive racer, Klug also has spent much of the last year working on his real estate business in Aspen.

He’s currently planning a new undertaking, through which he wants to raise awareness of organ donation: to summit the highest mountain peaks on each of the world’s seven continents.

“It’s a dream I’ve always had,” he said. “I want to be the first transplant [recipient] to do all of the ‘Seven Summits.’”

This week included the launch party for the sixth annual Summit For Life, a nighttime race up Aspen Mountain and fundraising event for the Klug Foundation, scheduled for Dec. 10. Last year, the event raised $115,000.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

November Patient of the Month: Diana Green

Diana and her granddaughters
In May of 2011, doctors discovered a small tumor on Diana Green's liver, and she was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of liver cancer. In only three months, the tumor had quadrupled in size; soon after, she underwent two rounds of a localized form of chemotherapy that cut off the blood supply to the tumor. These procedures were difficult for Diana to endure, and she spent days recovering and regaining her strength after each one. Doctors now say a liver transplant is essential to her survival.

This mother of three and grandmother of two is determined to overcome this health challenge. She loves animals and has a passion for gardening. As the head grower at a local hospital's greenhouse, she is blessed to have a career in something she loves so much. After receiving her diagnosis, she followed her doctor's advice and began following a strict organic diet and eliminating nearly all the chemicals from her home. Diana has cut sugar out of her diet and is doing everything possible to slow down--or even reverse--the cancer that is attacking her body. More than anything, she wants to spend many more years watching her young granddaughters grow up. But she needs your help.

To read more about Diana or to make a donation to NFT to help with her expenses, visit her web page on the NFT site.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011