Family, donor mark 10 years since kidney tranplant
Ten years ago, life was bleak for David Martin. He was at the tail end of a divorce and facing the probability that he would have to be on dialysis for the rest of his life. The one bright spot in his life was his 8-year-old daughter Violet. He wanted to see her grow up and especially to graduate high school.
Today, thanks to the life-changing gift of a coworker, he is healthy and happy and on May 26 he will celebrate both his 48th birthday and Violet’s graduation from Bellefontaine High School.
David Martin and Tina Schwaderer Allen, left of center, who donated a kidney to Mr. Martin 10 years ago, reunited earlier this month for a pinwheel planting ceremony at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where the two underwent separate but simultaneous surgeries on Oct. 2, 2007. Mr. Martin said his reason for wanting to live was to see his daughter Violet, planting a pinwheel, graduate high school, which will take place on May 26, also Mr. Martin’s 48th birthday. Mr. Martin’s second wife Jenny, standing right, joined them for the ceremony in Columbus. (EXAMINER PHOTO | REUBEN MEES)
“Honestly, I didn’t think I would live to see this day,” Mr. Martin said. “As graduation approaches, I’m really proud to be here. It all ties together almost too perfectly to ignore it.”
The 10th anniversary of the kidney transplant that made his new life possible also presented an opportunity for Mr. Martin, Violet and his wife Jenny to reunite with donor Tina Schwaderer Allen during a ceremony at the Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center to celebrate National Donate Life Month.
“This is a big thing for me,” Ms. Allen said after she traveled from Covington, Ky., to Columbus to help plant 8,500 pinwheels on the lawn outside Rhodes Hall, where their dual surgeries were performed. “It’s probably as big for me as it is for him.”
Read complete story in Saturday’s Examiner.
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