Kidney donation binds ex-Cowboys mates

Kidney donation binds ex-Cowboys mates

By Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY

PLANO, Texas — They are in a sauna, 15 minutes into the heat and another day into their lives since Everson Walls gave Ron Springs his left kidney.

"You ready?" Walls asks his former Dallas Cowboys teammate, slouched on a bench.

On cue, a shirtless and sweaty Walls reaches under Springs' armpits and hoists him upright.

Muscle fibrosis has contracted Springs' arms and curled the hands that caught a then-Cowboys record 73 receptions in 1983. It is difficult for Springs, who needed the kidney to combat type 2 diabetes, to push his body up.

Yet Walls, believed to be the first former pro athlete to donate an organ to an ex-teammate, is there for another assist.

Then he helps Springs into a wheelchair and pushes it to the parking lot.

Leaving the health club a few miles from their homes in suburban Dallas, they cackle. A fan had just swore he was at the classic 1981 NFC title game at Candlestick Park climaxed by "The Catch" — Dwight Clark's leaping snag in front of Walls that propelled the San Francisco 49ers to their first Super Bowl.

"How many times have we heard that, Cubby?" Springs says, addressing Walls by his nickname. "Everybody was at that game and everybody was sitting in the end zone. Must've been 100,000 people in that end zone."

Springs, 50, who uses a prosthetic foot after infections forced the amputation of his right foot and two toes on his left, loves these sessions. Since he asked Walls last year if he could help strengthen his body for a potential transplant, they come about three times a week for stretching, exercise and general bonding.

Walls insists the gym is where Springs stopped feeling sorry for himself and found a renewed vigor. It is also where Walls, 47, says he made the decision that led to the February kidney transplant that might have saved Springs' life.

Springs, improving by the day, was on the national waiting list for more than three years. A niece offered to donate a kidney but became pregnant. A nephew's kidney was not strong enough.

Walls was doing sit-ups last fall, he recalls, when he glanced at Springs on a weight machine and asked, "What's your blood type?" They are type O blood brothers.

Discovering that, Walls pledged to get checked out and proceeded full-tilt on the mission. Walls says, "I just couldn't sit there and let my boy die."

Expanding their effort

Other current or former athletes have been involved in transplants. Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning and former San Antonio Spurs forward Sean Elliott continued careers after receiving kidney transplants; former Utah Jazz center Greg Ostertag donated a kidney to his sister, while NBA legend Oscar Robertson did likewise for his daughter.

Springs' improvement has been steady. He no longer needs dialysis, and his energy has soared. His skin, darkened by the failed kidneys, is bronze again. His posture is improved and with therapy, he has more range of motion in his arms and hands.

Now they want to help save more lives. Walls and Springs have established the Gift for Life Foundation (www.GiftForLifeFoundation.org) to promote organ donations and battle diabetes. They hope to canvass neighborhoods in their own mobile unit equipped with machines that test people, given that of the 21 million people in the USA with type 2 diabetes, more than 6 million are unaware they have the disease.

"A lot of people just don't have the knowledge," Springs says. "In other ways, they are just scared about the facts. It's our job to make them aware … and to start prevention."

They hope their message hits home with minorities. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, African-Americans are 2.2 times more likely than whites to have type 2 diabetes, with 13% of adults (more than 3 million people) afflicted. An estimated 2.5 million Hispanics (9.5% of adults) have the disease, which can contribute to ailments including heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.

Each day in the USA, 77 people receive transplants but 19 die waiting because of a shortage of donors. According to OrganDonor.gov, more than 96,000 are on the national waiting list.

Kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organ with a 90% success rate. "You can donate a kidney and still live," Walls says. "A lot of people think it's like a heart or a liver. But you can live great with a third of a kidney. Once I educated myself, any concerns I had were put aside."

Springs, diagnosed with diabetes in 1990, wants diabetics to avoid his mistakes and to alter their diets and lifestyle while being vigilant with treatment.

"You don't wish this on anybody, but there's not a better person who can get this type of message out to people than my dad," says Shawn Springs, a Washington Redskins cornerback preparing for his 11th pro season.

Shawn, 32, says he would have retired if it meant saving his father. Ron rejected that idea and also told daughters Ayra and Ashley that he did not want their kidneys. Ron told them that given their genes, they might someday need their kidneys for other situations.

"I think God put this on him for a reason," Shawn said. "He has found a purpose where he can have a tremendous impact."

In early 2005 this seemed unlikely with Ron Springs at a low point. Dialysis three times a week drained him physically while the amputations and other ailments depressed him. Battling a staph infection, Springs considered refusing surgery for removal of the foot, which might have been fatal.

Battling depression

His old backfield mate, Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, was among friends who plunged into the emotional battle. As Springs lay in the hospital and pondered his plight, Dorsett forcefully told him there was no option other than surgery.

"I was on morphine and stuff," Springs says. "I was thinking maybe I could do antibiotics and beat this. Then I looked down and said, 'Damn, my foot is messed up anyway. Hell, I ain't got to run no 40s no more. I can get a prosthetic and still walk.' I sat there sad for about two days. Then I said, 'What the hell am I doing tripping and sad?' "

Walls maintains Springs' depression lasted for weeks. He says Springs' outlook contributed to the ensuing problems with fibrosis.

"When he lost his leg, he was pissed off," Walls says. "That had a lot to do with why his arms are like that because he didn't try to do any exercises. They would come in and try to do rehab for him, and he wouldn't do it."

Springs and Walls, friends since Walls joined the Cowboys as a rookie free agent in 1981, are so close that they will not hesitate to finish the other's sentence — or express a disagreement. Their wives, Adriane and Shreill, are best friends. Their kids grew up understanding that if something happened to their parents, the other couple would take care of them. The families live a mile apart.

A driving force in Walls' decision to donate was the toll Ron's condition took on Adriane, his primary caregiver. Shreill never objected.

Had Walls not given his kidney?

"I would've gotten a kidney within a six-month period," Springs says assuredly. "But I wanted a living kidney. A dead person's kidney might last 15, 20 years at the most."

Walls casts a puzzled glare from a sofa in Springs' den. "Yeah, he could have waited," Walls says. "But six months down the line, you don't know what his health would have been."

The mood lightens with the idea that a part of Walls is inside Springs.

"Now you're getting personal," Walls says. "He thinks DBs ain't worth (much). And just think: His son grew up to be a cornerback. So he's been cursed for years."

Cowboys salute planned

Walls' donation — which, unlike the other cases of athletes getting transplants didn't include an exchange with a relative — might define his character more than anything from his 11-year NFL career. The only player to lead the NFL in interceptions three times, Walls won a Super Bowl XXV championship ring as a starting safety for the New York Giants.

"Probably more than anything I can recall in athletics, that gesture on Everson's part epitomized the uniqueness of the relationship that can happen on a team," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says. "But it's not about athletics. It goes beyond teammates. It's life."

The Cowboys plan to honor Walls and Springs, probably as honorary captains for a high-profile home game such as the nationally televised prime-time opener against the Giants on Sept. 9. "We want it to be meaningful," says Jones, also open to the team possibly working with the ex-players on their campaign. "They can really change the quality of life for thousands of people."

Since the transplant, Springs longs to be independent, so Adriane and his daughters will not have to feed him. He can't wait to drive himself again.

"Don't feel sorry for me," he says. "I'm almost back."

Even his athletic juices are returning. He pines to settle a score with the man who helped so much to make it a possibility. About eight years ago on Walls' backyard basketball court, Springs lost in H-O-R-S-E.

"The only man to ever beat him," Walls says. "That's what he says."

"It was his hoop, slanted on a hill," Springs grumbles. "He knew every angle. He nipped me and wouldn't even give me a rematch. And boy, when we won that sucker took off running. He ran into the house like he won the Super Bowl."

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