Friends help each other through organ donation

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Friends help each other through organ donation

Published 6/7/2008

BY MONICA SPRINGER

mspringer@gctelegram.com

SYRACUSE -- One of them had his life saved by an organ donor. The other one is about to save a life through organ donation.

David Cartwright received a pancreas and kidney transplant earlier this year. His longtime friend, John Platt, is going to donate his kidney to his brother-in-law next week. They have known each other for 20 years.

When Cartwright received word at 2 a.m. one February day that a kidney and pancreas might be available for him in Denver, he called Platt. Platt, who runs the town's donut shot with his family, joked that he thought Cartwright was calling him to see if the donuts were ready yet.

The two men exchange jokes about a variety of topics. One topic remains serious: Cartwright was sick. He's lucky to be alive.

Platt said his friend was on every church prayer list in the area.

"We almost lost you, buddy," Platt said.

Donor

Cartwright received a call at about 2:30 a.m. on Valentine's Day. The transplant team at the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver told him there was a possible match for the organs he needed. Cartwright was told to stay close to the phone.

The next call came at 5 a.m. He was told to pack his bags.

Cartwright had been on a waiting list since August 2007 for a kidney and pancreas transplant. He has type one insulin dependent diabetes that caused his problems, he said. Because he needed a kidney and a pancreas, doctors moved Cartwright up on the donor waiting list. Plus, Cartwright said, the donor's organs couldn't have been a better match.

Since Cartwright's transplanted organs came from a cadaver, it is the hospital's policy not to release the donor's name to the transplant recipient. Cartwright said all he knows about the donor is that she was a 15-year-old girl.

The hospital will give Cartwright the chance to write a letter to the organ donor's family. He plans to.

"Because of their daughter, I get to spend more time with my son," Cartwright said.

From there the family can choose to contact him. Cartwright said he isn't sure what he'll write.

"It's hard to put into words at this point," Cartwright said. "Where would we be now? I would still be on dialysis. My son would still be scared," Cartwright said. His son, a 14-year-old who lives in Missouri, arrives next week to spend the summer in Syracuse.

Giving an organ

Platt is leaving June 15 for Oregon, where he will give his brother-in-law a kidney. The surgery is planned for June 19.

Platt's brother-in-law, who lives in Arizona with his wife, has polycystic kidney disease. In December of 2006, he had both kidneys removed. He is on dialysis every other day.

Platt was the fourth person to test to see if he would be a compatible donor. Platt said the process of the testing has taken about 1 1/2 years.

Cartwright said Platt's recovery will be quicker than his. Platt will be put on antibiotics, but will not need the anti-rejection pills Cartwright needs.

Meanwhile, daily life goes on. Cartwright said he and his family get into the shop by 2:30 a.m. making donuts. Daylight Donuts opens at 5 a.m., but the coffee drinkers usually come by 4:30 a.m.

"They work really hard at it," Cartwright said.

Platt's wife, Rebekah, and their three teenagers will take care of the donut shop while he is donating his kidney.

Life now

Cartwright said before he had the transplant, he was so weak he could barely get up and walk across the street. Now he moves freely. He wears a wound vac, which cleans the incision that has not completely healed yet. But the vac will make the healing process for the incision quicker. He won't need it in a couple of months.

"I feel like I'm a walking miracle," Cartwright said.

Cartwright had three surgeries: One for the transplant, another six days after the transplant for internal bleeding, and the last one a month after the transplant to remove an abscess by his pancreas. Cartwright will need one more surgery next year to close the incision.

Although he still has diabetes, the damage from the disease is gone. He doesn't have to take insulin shots or worry about his diet. He enjoys eating cake and other items he couldn't eat before. But there is still one thing he can't get used to.

"I still can't drink regular pop," Cartwright said. "It tastes like syrup."

http://www.gctelegram.com/News/transplant-6-7