One man's death gives others new lifelast modified September 27. 2008 11:28PM
NEWPORT - There were plenty of prizes and gifts awarded golfers who took part in the Chris Morin Memorial Golf Outing at Wyndridge Oaks Golf Course Saturday morning.
Joe Abate isn't a golfer, but he attended anyway, partly to celebrate receiving the greatest gift of all: The gift of life.
After 10 years of kidney problems and 10 years of dialysis, he got a new kidney in December thanks to the foresight and generosity of Chris Morin's family.
Chris, 25, of Newport, a Jefferson High School graduate, died Dec. 10 of head trauma suffered in a one-car crash in Wayne County.
His mom, Barbara Bass of South Rockwood, has worked in the medical field and knew the value of donor organs. "One person can help up to 52 people," she explains.
The family gave consent in the hours after Chris' death, and the young man's kidneys, liver, pancreas and corneas were harvested.
Mr. Abate, 53, of Macomb Township was among the recipients.
After struggling for years with kidney problems, he had received a transplant previously, but the kidney had to be removed immediately because his body quickly began rejecting it.
Then another kidney became available, but surgeons feared it wouldn't serve Mr. Abate well because it was from an elderly person.
Then Chris had his accident.
Mr. Abate got the call at 1 a.m. He underwent surgery, but the surgeon felt something was wrong. Chris' kidney was too big for Mr. Abate's kidney body cavity. Mr. Abate post-surgical reaction confirmed that. "I felt awful," he says. "I was in terrible pain."
It seemed the kidney wasn't functioning.
Surgeons opened him up again, removed the kidney and laid it on his stomach. It expanded, turned pink and began producing urine, Mr. Abate says.
Rather than remove the kidney and send Mr. Abate into another interminable wait, surgeons decided to put the kidney on the front side of his body, just inside the abdomen wall, and graft skin over it.
That's where it sits today, a slight bulge on his belly.
But Mr. Abate is doing fine with Chris' kidney. He's off dialysis, of course. "I've never felt better in my life," he says. He also has gotten an appetite back and gained 30 pounds.
Ms. Bass and Mr. Abate were linked through the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, which acts as an intermediary for organ recipients and the family of organ donors. If both sides agree to be identified, they're encouraged to meet and share their stories.
Mr. Abate didn't hesitate to link up with Chris' family. "I felt compelled," he says. "When someone gives you a gift like that, how can you not?"
Ms. Bass says Chris, a worker at Great Lakes Steel, was an active young man, who loved playing hockey, hunting, swimming, art and, yes, golf.
He also loved to give rather than to receive, she says, and always wanted to help others in need.
That's why Gift of Life Michigan received his organs - which helped five people, including Mr. Abate.
And that's why his friend, John Poupard, and cousin, Bill Piepsney, dreamed up a memorial golf outing to call attention to the value of organ donation.
Ms. Bass said it will be an annual event and might have to be held at two different golf courses next year judging by the turnout Saturday. More than 150 persons took part.
"They had to turn people away," she said. "There are a lot of people here I don't even know."
Ms. Bass still misses her son dearly, of course.
"We were so close," she says. "I'm numb."
But she adds that people such as Joe help her keep the connection to her lost loved one.
"Part of him is living in Joe," she says. "Joe's part of our family now."
On the Net:
www.giftoflifemichigan.orgor call 1-800-482-4881
http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080927/NEWS01/309279997
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