Update: Marc Summers Receives a Third Chance at Life
Ten years after Marc Summers received a kidney transplant on March 6, 2000, his kidney failed, his health declined and he was re-listed as one of the more than 117,000 Americans waiting for a life-saving transplant. On Friday, January 18, 2013, after three years of waiting, Marc got the call every transplant candidate hopes for but is never sure will come. He received his second life-saving kidney just a week after attending a Donate Life Ambassador training session. Marc shared story to the doctors and nurses on his floor shortly after receiving the gift of life.
“During date night with my wife Torre, the phone rang calling me in for my second kidney transplant,” Marc said. “The moment was surreal but I was calm, one the calmest moments I’ve ever had in my life. The prayers and support I have received have been very humbling for my entire family who have watched me receive a kidney, get sick again and wait for a third chance at life. It takes a village to be patient waiting for a life-saving transplant, and to see and feel the love from my village is overwhelmingly AWESOME!”
Marc Summers and wife Torre, daughter Marin and son Tucker
Currently on the fast-track to recovery, Marc returned home to his (now two!) young children on Friday, January 25, six days after his transplant. He recounts his gratitude for his first kidney transplant in excerpts from his first blog post, featured below.
January 11, 2002
I have to say what a beautiful day that this is. I write this on my 28th birthday. March 6, 2002 will be my second year anniversary from my Kidney Transplant.
On March 6, 2000 at 7:30am I received a call, a call that anyone has received would probably tell you not only changed their life but also the lives of those around them. It did mine. My ‘call’ moment was very surreal: my alarm clock went off the same time the phone rang. I was supposed to fill out paperwork for my new job that day but things were meant for me to do something else that Monday. It was the day I would receive my Kidney Transplant.
I recieved my call only about a month to a month and a half after I was officially on the Transplant waiting list. When you need a transplant, there is a clinic you must attend to help prepare for the kidney transplant process. At that clinic, I asked my Transplant coordinator what a typical wait was, she informed me anywhere from one to two years. A very short wait would be six months. I was very much caught off guard.
After recieving the call, and reviewing my history to confirm the donor was a proper match, I started my trek to the Ohio State University Hospital. My check-in was at 1:30 and was taken to my room where it all started. There were tests done such as blood work, vital signs etc. I do not know if it was because everything was happening so fast, or because the doctor was in a hurry, but when my wife Torre asked the doctor why this Kidney was to be mine I really didn’t understand him.
The doctor sensed I did not understand him and he clarified what he was telling me in the hall before the operating room. He was explaining that the Kidney was a perfect match that I was receiving – that it was an equivalent from a twin brother or sister. A better match than my mother or father or either of my brothers could give me and this was from a total stranger.
There are no words to say or gesture made that can show my appreciation for the decision that a family had made for me. I am sitting at the desk in my office where I did start that new job, as a Financial Representative. After completing my first calendar year, I achieved the honor of New Financial Representative of the Year for my firm.
I am now living a wonderful life with my wonderful wife Torre, our beautiful daughter, Marin, and our two dogs. Thank you to the family who made the decision to help me and others live a happy, healthy life.
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