Football “Brotherhood” Leads To New Kidney For Derby Man

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Football “Brotherhood” Leads To New Kidney For Derby Man

BY Tony Spinelli | SEP 19, 2011 7:32 AM

Football is more than a passion for Frank Romano, a former Derby High School linebacker.

It may have extended his life.

Romano, 59, had renal failure, and required dialysis three times a week. But a college football connection resulted in a kidney transplant on July 17.

Now Romano is recovering from surgery, and giving credit to the “football brotherhood.”

The kidney came by way of Dr. Mark Sobel, a fellow University of Maryland alumnus whose son died of a heart infection in July.

Although Romano and Sobel attended the University of Maryland at different times, they both had played football at the school, and struck up a friendship at alumni events.

“Football is a brotherhood kind of thing,” Romano said Wednesday morning. “You always kind of bond.”

Mark Sobel

Dr. Sobel is an orthopedic surgeon who practices in New Jersey and New York City. He played defensive end at Maryland and graduated in 1982.

He said in a telephone interview Wednesday he struck up a friendship with Romano 12 years ago after the two met at a football hall of fame event in New York. They attended games together and had tailgating parties over the years and was aware of his kidney problems that began in 2008.


Mark Sobel Jr.
When Sobel’s son, Mark Sobel Jr., was dying in July of a heart infection at the age of 17, Sobel thought of Romano and his need for a kidney.

When it came time to take his son off life support, Sobel told the doctors he had someone in mind to donate the organ to: Romano.

“We are grateful we could give Mark’s kidney to Frank,” Sobel said.

Frank Romano

Romano graduated from Derby High School in 1970 and had played on the 1969 state championship Derby football team. He was an offensive guard and offensive tackle at the University of Maryland, and graduated from the college in 1975.

He went on to a career as a restaurant owner, operating the former Frankie’s Grill on Pershing Drive in Derby. He retied in 2009, because of his kidney problems.

When Romano was sick, the word went out into the Valley community, and a flurry of calls from old friends of football days came in, offering help, said his daughter, Julia Soda.

“The amount of people that called and came to visit, called and emailed us, to ask how is he doing, was amazing. A lot of it stems from his football background,” Soda said.

Soda and her sister Victoria Romano, who know lives in Delaware, grew up attending Maryland Terrapins games and events with their dad.

Recovery

Romano underwent the surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital on July 17.

Now, Romano is following his doctor’s orders and taking his anti-rejection medication every day.

He takes 40 pills a day. He avoids crowds and children, because his immune system is weakened and he has low resistance to germs.

He is hoping for the best, and tears come to his eyes when he thinks of how he has a potentially longer life.

“It’s something I can never pay back, but you have to pay it forward,” he said of the good fortune that has come to him.

He has a few ideas about how he will do that, but doesn’t want to talk about them just yet.

“I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag,” he said with a smile.

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