I was in my tent late at night, checking mostly on baseball scores, on a backpacking trip in April of 2023 on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, when I listened to the phone message from Columbia Presbyterian in New York informing me that I had matched as a kidney donor for my daughter. At the time, the transplant was not something that wasn’t going to happen immediately and I continued on my month long walk in the woods all the way to North Carolina.
After going through every grueling (for me) medical test possible during the summer after I got back from trip, in September, I was deemed healthy enough to donate. They don’t want to create another patient so they’re really careful about taking one of your vital organs. By the fall, with her numbers dropping, it was determined that the transplant would happen in early 2024. I had a face to face Strat draft slated for February in Orlando, and I asked my daughter if she thought she could hold out until March. I know, how selfish of me but I did have a good draft.
In trying to figure out how I would go through the recovery process, home alone with nothing to do, I decided to go back to work in January to give me something to do and cover some of the costs. Terry couldn’t be the care giver for both of us and she’d stay in New York with our daughter. The job was a lifesaver for me! The robotic surgery happened in mid March in New York. They had me walk into the operating room with full view of the instruments and I had thoughts of an alien abduction. It was only for a few seconds but that image will stay with me forever. I was only in the hospital for 32 hours. My sister and her husband took care of me for two weeks in New Jersey before I was allowed to come home. They were amazing. I was happy when my surgeon told me that I could go home and I’d never have to see him again (his words, not mine and it was a joke, he was great!)
I did get to spend some time in New York. I did manage to get to one Yankees game this summer. I was also official scorekeeper for my son’s softball team at a tourney in Central Park. Terry and I got to see the Notebook on Broadway. I’m doing great and getting back in shape playing pickle ball. My daughter is doing very well, back to work and going to grad school. Now, I’m switching to part time at work, taking a few weeks off for the projections issue and getting ready to retire again! So, if I was late answering your email or didn’t post anything on this site, you can see why.
It all seems sort of surreal now. It’s like something that happens to other people or in a Hallmark movie. But, I have the scars to remind me that it really did happen.
In Strat, I have two strong playoff teams and another team with a solid core of future pitchers (as if that’s possible). Strat, as much as my job, helped me get through all of this too. I’m looking forward to working on the LBB again! I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for 40 years now! Thanks in advance for your continued support!
Take care, John