Two families involved in kidney transplant donation


story tease

By GREG GULAS

sports@vindy.com

HOWLAND

For Kevin Vanoverbeke, Santa Claus arrived this Christmas in the form of his lifelong best friend, Chris Amadei.

The former golf professional at Oak Tree Country Club in West Middlesex, Pa., was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes on Dec. 13, 1990. For 18 months, he has been in desperate need of a kidney-pancreas transplant.

On Dec. 13 – 28 years to the day he received his diagnosis – Vanoverbeke received word that Amadei was a match for a kidney donation.

Friday at the Cleveland Clinic, Vanoverbeke will receive a new kidney, but it won’t be from his friend, with whom he graduated from Howland High School in 1996.

Amadei’s kidney will be donated to another patient at Cleveland Clinic, and in return, an adult child of that recipient will donate a kidney to Vanoverbeke. Now, two families will celebrate the holidays with life-saving donations.

“I have so many mixed feelings; so many people to thank. And I just feel just so blessed and lucky right now,” Vanoverbeke said. “It will be a long process, but one for which I am ready and my family is as well.”

In January, Amadei, who is single, called the Cleveland Clinic and asked to be tested to see if he could help the friend he has known since their Little League baseball days.

“I filled out their questionnaire and at the time I weighed 292 pounds,” Amadei said. “They politely informed me that I didn’t pass and that I needed to lose at least 80 pounds before anything can move forward.

“I called back in August after getting down to 210 pounds, and in September we began to move forward with the process,” Amadei said.

Vanoverbeke has B positive blood and can only receive blood from B and O donors. Amadei is O positive and considered a universal donor.

“From Sept. 20 to 21, the Cleveland Clinic tested basically every part of my body,” Amadei said. “I gave a lot of blood — approximately 32 vials, plus a large amount of urine. I had an X-ray and an MRI and met with a dermatologist.

“I also met with a social worker because they wanted to make sure I understood what I was doing and would I be able to take ample time off from work and still be alright financially. They were good with everything, and so was I.”

Amadei works for APTIV, formerly Delphi Packard, on North River Road in Warren. He received word from the Cleveland Clinic on Oct. 5 that everything was a go, so he went over to Vanoverbeke’s house to tell him the good news.

At almost the same time, Vanoverbeke’s surgeon, Dr. Venkatesh Krishnamurthi, called about the second transplant possibility.

“We won’t be informed about the other party until after our respective surgeries,” Vanoverbeke said. “All we know is that Chris is a match for both me and the other party, but the other kidney donor only matches me.

“We discussed this possibility and really lucked out,” Vanoverbeke said. “Two families are being helped so there really wasn’t a reason not to proceed with the surgery.”

Amadei’s unselfishness is commendable.

“I’m losing a kidney, and Kevin is getting a new kidney,” Amadei said. “We met when we were 9 years old and playing together in the Howland Little League, so I grew up knowing he had diabetes.

“I knew it was bad. I just didn’t realize early-on how hard it was on his kidneys,” Amadei said. “If two people and their respective families can now be helped, then why not do it?”

Vanoverbeke was born April 27, 1978.

Amadei was born on June 1, 1978.

Both also share a love for golf.

But, they’re complete opposites.

Vanoverbeke hooks his shots, likes to sleep in, is a die-hard Cleveland Browns fan and loves chocolate.

Amadei is a slicer, is up at the crack of dawn, hates chocolate and loves the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Between our birthdays, we try to get together and plan a golf trip,” Vanoverbeke said, adding, they played last May in Frederick, Md., to celebrate their 40th birthdays.

“We won’t plan our next trip, however, until we’re both healthy.”

Amadei, whose surgery is scheduled for Thursday, celebrated by spending the past weekend in New Orleans and attending Sunday’s Steelers-Saints game.

“It’s No. 14 on my stadium tour so my prep for surgery was spending five days on Bourbon Street,” Amadei said. “I will have dinner with my family on Christmas Day and then the day after Christmas it’s up to Cleveland.

“My brother, Jason, works at the Cleveland Clinic and I’ll stay with him [Wednesday]. We’ve done our pre-op and are ready to go, so the next step is the actual surgery, for which I will report at 5 a.m.”

Vanoverbeke said his family is excited. Many plan to be with him the day of his surgery. He’s looking forward to the transplant.

“I feel bad for Chris because of what he has to go through, yet I cannot thank him enough for the sacrifice he’s making on my behalf,” Vanoverbeke said. “I truly appreciate all that he has done for me.

“The Cleveland Clinic said it will take about six months to a year before things get back to normal,” he said. “Having spent seven hours and 52 minutes on dialysis each night — seven days a week for the past 12 months — I’m looking forward to resuming a normal life.”

Amadei is expected to spend three days in the hospital after his surgery. Vanoverbeke will spend five or six days bed-bound after his procedure since his body will be susceptible to much more.

“The first few months they break down my immune system to keep my body from rejecting the kidney,” he said. “I cannot drive for a couple of months and will need to go to the Cleveland Clinic twice a week for the first four weeks, then once a week for four weeks after that to be determined based on how I am doing.”

He can only receive a pancreas from a cadaver. That transplant will occur after he receives his new kidney.

“I have a year-and-a-half already in as I await a pancreas, and I’ll be on anti-rejection medicine for the rest of my life.

“I expect to take about 20-25 pills per day, but I don’t know the exact amount just yet. That will be determined as things unfold. I’ll gladly do that to regain some normalcy to my life.

“I truly have been blessed this Christmas. God has been good to me.”