Brother mourns man who gave him another chance at life

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Brother mourns man who gave him another chance at life

November 3, 2008

By Becky Schlikerman, Staff Writer

When Edmond White found out his brother needed a kidney transplant, he didn't hesitate to offer to be the donor.

Dan White had been on dialysis for 11 "brutal" months after high blood pressure led to kidney failure.

Edmond wasn't perfect, granted, but he knew his brother needed him.

When tests showed the blood types of Edmond and Dan didn't match, the brothers were part of a paired exchange with another family.

Edmond ended up donating a kidney to another person waiting for a transplant, and that man's wife gave Dan one of her kidneys.

Dan, 34, said he owes his quality of life to Edmond.

"There's no greater gift you can receive," he said.

That was August 2006, a happy time for the White brothers and their family.

The happiness, however, wouldn't last long for Edmond or his fam ily.

Edmond, who had been living in Madison, Wis., was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and later sent back to prison for a parole violation on a 2002 fraud conviction.

On Oct. 5, the 31-year-old died while incarcerated at a federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., leaving behind a 5-year-old son in Madison.

With the cold wind blowing, a small group gathered to say their final goodbyes to Edmond at a burial Oct. 22 at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip.

The problems with Edmond's mental state started after he came to his brother's rescue.

Family members started noticing he was acting differently.

He wasn't sleeping, and his memories of events often were skewed, Dan said. Edmond also was saying "weird" things such as "the world is turning east" that made no sense to Dan, he said.

Most striking of all, Edmond became paranoid and was apprehensive about carrying his ID or a cell phone because he thought someone was trying get him, Dan said.

At first, he thought Edmond was changing because of the transplant, but doctors said that wasn't the proble m. Instead, he realized he was watching Edmond's mind deteriorate, he said.

"It was a very big blow for me," said Dan, of Sauk Village. "It went from him helping me to me trying to help him."

Mixed emotions

Dan said the happiness he felt after the transplant was gone as soon as Edmond was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in January 2007.

A few months later, things turned even worse.

Edmond violated his parole for failure to pay child support and was sent to prison twice, once in 2007 and again in 2008. Edmond wasn't able to pay the child support because he wasn't working because of his mental illness, Dan said.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, at the time of his death, Edmond was serving a year sentence for violating his parole. He'd been in Leavenworth since July 2 and was projected to be released April 6, 2009.

In 2002, he was convicted of bank fraud and conspiracy charges for cashing counterfeit checks, said Anthony Delyea, the attorney who represented him. Edmond was sent to Leavenworth and paroled that same year.

Just eight months after donating a kidney for his brother - and with only seven months left on his parole - Edmond was sent back to federal prison on his first parole violation, Dan said.

He later would be paroled again in 2007 but return to Leavenworth in July 2008 on his second probation violation.

He never would leave.

Michael Handler, deputy coroner of Johnson and Leavenworth counties in Kansas, said Edmond's death was ruled a suicide. He had hanged himself in his cell.

Help wasn't there

Edm ond's mothe r, Sheila White, who lives in Forest Park, said the prison didn't take care of Edmond's bipolar disorder. She said her son told her he wasn't getting his medicine. She said she knew her son wasn't being treated by what he said in phone calls and letters.

"You can tell instantly if people aren't on their medication," Sheila said. "They say things that are not real."

In a letter to his mother, Edmond wrote about his struggles.

"My mental condition is being worse. I'm trying to make it. I'm trying to get home," Sheila read from a letter Edmond wrote her.

Both Dan and Sheila attribute Edmond's death to the lack of mental health treatment in prison.

"My brother didn't take his own life because at the time when this happened, he wasn't my brother, he wasn't himself because he wasn't getting his medication," Dan said.

Numerous calls to prison officials seeking comments on the Whites' claims were not returned.

Despite the troubles Edmond faced, he's remembered as a man who would do anything for his family or people in difficult situations.

"He woul d literally take his shoes off and give them" to someone in need, his mother said.

One of her favorite stories about Edmond, who grew up in the Humboldt Park community on Chicago's West Side, tells of how he got the nickname "fireworks man."

When Edmond was 12 years old, he suffered burns while playing with fireworks. He got the nickname because he didn't give up fireworks, Sheila said.

"The next day he was on his crutches still trying to light fireworks," she said.

It's memories like that that reinforce to Sheila her son isn't coming home.

"I'm going to miss him. I'm going to miss his beautiful smile," she said.

Dan said he's trying not to think about his brother's death, especially because there's not yet closure.

Instead, Dan has immersed himself in his work as the manager of the bus company his family owns, Treasured Tours, which is what he's done for the past few years during the family's troubled times.

Despite his efforts, when he's trying to sleep at night, there's some things he can't stop thinking about.

"My brother won't see his son graduate, won't see his son grow up. When I do get married, he won't be at my wedding," Dan said.

Becky Schlikerman can be reached at bschlikerman@southtownstar.com or (708) 802-8813.

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