Gift of life received by lifelong friend of man fatally shot in Riverside

Gift of life received by lifelong friend of man fatally shot in Riverside

07:49 PM PST on Tuesday, December 2, 2008

By JESSICA LOGAN
The Press-Enterprise

Christine Boyd wants to meet all the people whose lives were helped by her son's donated organs after doctors declared him brain dead earlier this month.

But she won't have to look too far for the man who received a kidney from her son, Cornelius Boyd. Wendell Horn and Cornelius Boyd lived in the same Arlanza neighborhood all of their lives, were friends through school into adulthood, and both drove trucks for a living.

When Cornelius Boyd was declared brain dead Nov. 16 after being shot Nov. 5, doctors learned Cornelius Boyd and Horn had the same blood type that made a kidney transplant possible.

"I was just so excited and ecstatic about it," Cornelius Boyd's sister Nancy Scheel said. "That was the best news out of all this for my brother's death. It made everything not seem so pointless."

Horn, 48, had survived since 2001 on dialysis, a system of cleansing the blood, after cancer claimed one kidney and the other failed soon after. He had his blood cleaned as he slept three nights a week and was on a wait list for a kidney for two years.

Horn was shocked to learn Boyd was shot. When it was clear Boyd would not survive, Boyd's brother called Horn and told him the family was willing to give him a kidney.

"I was happy, but then I was sad too because of Corny," Horn said through tears Tuesday in an interview in his hospital bed, a week after the transplant surgery. Mylar balloons saying "Get Well Soon" were still full, and the purple, yellow and red flowers his friends sent him were still fresh beside his bed.

Christine Boyd said she was happy to hear the transplant went well.

"I kind of believe if it helps someone else live, so be it," Christine Boyd said in her home with a photo of her son lying in front of her on her coffee table. "There shouldn't be any guilty feelings. I miss my son already... but knowing, with him being killed so senselessly, someone else can live, why, I feel good about that."

Time in the hospital has given Horn time to reminisce about Cornelius and all the time they spent playing together as children and going to Norte Vista High School.

"I sit up here at night and think about all the people Corny gave life to," Horn said.

Horn called Christine Boyd in the days after the surgery. "She told me, 'I lost a son and I gained a son,' " Horn said through heavy tears.

Horn said that when he is released from the hospital, he wants to volunteer to help other dialysis patients, encourage his family to agree to become organ donors when they die and live a healthy life. "I'm going to take good care of this kidney, extra careful for Corny," Horn said.

Christine Boyd has plans, too. Horn told her over the phone that once he gets out of the hospital "the two families are going to come together and have a good time."

Horn said Tuesday he hoped to go to Boyd's memorial Saturday but doctors told him to avoid crowds for six weeks after surgery to avoid germs.

Christine Boyd said she used to work transporting patients with kidney problems to and from dialysis. She said that by looking at them, "you could pretty much feel how they are feeling."

The experience gave Horn a new perspective on life. "I know that any day can be your last, and I've got a second chance to prolong my life."

Cornelius Boyd, 46, was in his car near Campbell and Lewis avenues when someone approached his car and shot him, said Riverside police Sgt. Derwin Hudson. Hudson said Wednesday that he had no suspects in the shooting.

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