Firefighter gives kidney to save colleague

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Firefighter gives kidney to save colleague

BY KATHLEEN QUILLIGAN
Kathleen.Quilligan@nwitimes.com
219.662.5331 | Saturday, May 31, 2008

Fellow firefighters often are referred to as brothers and sisters of the same fraternal order.

But two Gary firefighters became literal blood brothers after one donated a kidney to save the other's life Thursday.

About eight months ago, Battalion Chief Fred Gilmore, 56, was at the Gary Fire Department's headquarters after visiting his doctor. Two years prior, he had discovered he had a kidney disease and recently switched doctors so the upcoming dialysis would be covered by his insurance. That day, his new doctor had told him he needed a new kidney.

Gilmore remembers walking into headquarters and telling the other firefighters the news.

"Three guys offered to give me a kidney," Gilmore said Friday afternoon, still hospitalized in Chicago from his Thursday morning surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

One of those men was Capt. Kent Whitt Sr., 43, who has known Gilmore for 17 years. The two worked together, bowled together and became fast friends. Whitt told Gilmore if he was a match, he'd gladly give him a kidney.

Fast forward to Friday afternoon and both men now have one of Whitt's healthy kidneys. Even in the hospital, the two are inseparable, traveling between each others' hospital rooms.

Both men are expected to be home by the end of the weekend, with full recovery taking a few weeks.

"He's like a big brother," Whitt said as an explanation of his donation. "I would have jumped over a blazing fire for him."

When Gilmore talks about Whitt, his control weakens and he begins to cry.

"He saved my life," Gilmore said. "I didn't ask him to do it for me. He just said he would."

But Whitt isn't the only Gary firefighter who was there for Gilmore, who said he's had a steady stream of visitors since he was admitted. Three fellow battalion chiefs visited the two men Friday afternoon, and one firefighter made the trip to the hospital at 4 a.m. Thursday, staying with Gilmore until they wheeled him to surgery.

"What they say about firefighters saving lives is true," Gilmore said. "We not only save the lives of the public, but we save each other."

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2008/05/31/news/top_news/doc26f9bcca7b2e677b8625745a0010d7ed.txt