Troop leader needed kidney; another did his good deed

Scouts' honor
Troop leader needed kidney; another did his good deed

Monday, Mar 03, 2008 - 12:05 AM

By BILL LOHMANN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Whenever two Boy Scout leaders get together, you know the conversation eventually will get around to camping trips.

"This is the absolute bottomline test," said Tim Billups. "Everybody always says, 'Every time Mr. Billups goes camping it rains.' Now that my kidney's in him, if he should go on a camping trip and I'm not there, and it rains . . . "

Billups chuckled. Mel Northington tried not to.

It hurts only when he laughs.

Well, it hurts occasionally at other times, too, as he heals from transplant surgery, but Northington is grateful beyond measure to Billups for the gift of his kidney.

"I've always loved this guy," said Northington, 52, a Scout leader, as is Billups, for Troop 500 that meets at Chamberlayne Heights United Methodist Church in Henrico County. "But we call each other 'brother' now."

Thanks to medical science, Northington's ailing kidneys and Billups' generosity, these two Hanover County men share much more than merely being fathers of Eagle Scouts.

Northington's kidneys failed last year, damaged by a long history of hypertension and the medication used to treat it. He started three-day-a-week dialysis treatment in July after a physician got his attention by telling him, "We've got to do something now or you're going to die."

Northington didn't have the nerve to ask anyone to donate a kidney, so he went on the national transplant waiting list and expected he might have to wait three years or more to reach the front of the line for a kidney from a deceased donor.

His friends in Troop 500 had other ideas, however. Many of them submitted to medical tests to determine if they would be suitable donors. The tests proved Billups, 48, would be a suitable donor. His brother, John, another leader in Troop 500, also was deemed a match. Tim completed his series of tests before John, which is how he came to be ready to go in December. Should Tim's lone remaining kidney ever fail, John has promised to donate one of his.

"When I got medically cleared, I called Mel and said, 'What are you doing next Tuesday?'" recalled Billups, who first met Northington several years ago when he was serving as scoutmaster and Northington's oldest son, Mitchell, joined the troop.

Said Northington, noting it was his wife Shawn's birthday, Dec. 7, "I was actually sitting in the dialysis center in the chair when he called, and I said, 'Huh?'"

The following Tuesday - Dec. 11 - Northington and Billups underwent surgery at VCU Hume-Lee Transplant Center. When it was over, Billups was one kidney lighter and Northington had a revamped plumbing system and new outlook on life.

"It really changes your perspective," said Northington, on leave from his job as a manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. "Everything starts to slow down, and you start looking more at what's important."

The important things in their lives include their families - for Northington, which besides Shawn includes sons Mitchell, 16, and Buddy, 7, daughter, Victoria, 12, and for Billups sons Casey, 24, and Spencer, 18, daughter, Madison, 17, and wife, Tammy. Scouts also play a big role. It's how they met, and it's what helped keep them going through the transplant and beyond with visits, prayers and meals.

"It serves as an example, because in any kind of society you have to think of yourself as fitting into a larger picture," said Mike Andrews, scoutmaster of Troop 500. "So many times you see in the news it's all about the individual: What's in it for me? How can I benefit from this?

"What an unselfish act for Tim to do this. Tim knows Mel through Scouting. It's not like he's a family member or a boyhood friend who grew up with him. It's very humbling.

Since the transplant, Billups has needled Northington, who came to Virginia from Wisconsin, about developing a slight Southern accent. On the other hand, Billups has developed an appreciation for the Green Bay Packers.

"I just want to make it clear it's only a three-day warranty on my kidney," Billups said.

Not to worry, said Northington with a smile:

"I bought an extended warranty."
Contact Bill Lohmann at (804) 649-6639 or wlohmann@timesdispatch.com.

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