I need to tell you a story about a student I had over ten years ago. He was a very fine student in my science classes, and an even better person. He also played baseball for me and was the best centerfielder I ever had. While he was at Walla Walla College playing baseball, he was diagnosed with Walter Payton’s disease- a terminal disease of the liver that is incurable.
For the last ten years, he has been battling this disease with more courage and a positive mental attitude that most of us would find impossible. He even told his sister that he was glad he was the one that got the disease because she could not have handled it.
His health has gradually been declining and this fall he was very sick. He still managed to go to hunting camp, and it concerned his father very much. He just told him that he was going to hunt no matter what because it could be his last hunting season.
He received some good news in January when he finally made the regional transplant list, something he had been fighting insurance companies over. Because of his young age and the poor condition of his liver, when he made the list he instantly went to #2 on it. The average waiting period is around 3 months, and some people die while waiting for a transplant.
Penny and I were in Council for the weekend when we got the phone call- they had found a perfect liver for Derek. It was a miracle because of the short amount of time he had been on the list. It was Penny’s birthday, January 18th, and that was a good sign. He went through many delays, however, and he didn’t have his surgery until Tuesday, January 20th. That was a good sign, as well, because it was my grandfather’s and my wife’s father’s birthday.
While awaiting his surgery, Derek remained upbeat and positive. He told his family members that would be no crying around him. He said everything was going to be fine and there was no need to cry. If they felt like they had to, then they had to leave the room. They took a picture of him as they wheeled him away, and he had one thumb in the air and a smile on his face. He was telling them he was OK and not to worry.
Everything went just fine in surgery. They updated the family from time to time and kept reporting that Derek was doing very well. The surgery took nearly ten hours with a team of 15 doctors. Derek did so well that the drug induced coma, which they put most patients in for a day or two, was not needed for Derek. In fact, just 12 hours after surgery, Derek took a couple of steps away from his bed, sat in a chair for a short time, and walked back to his bed.
The somber part of this happy story is that some family suffered a terrible loss to make this all happen. Derek and his family are not allowed to know who it was that donated the liver. That is standard practice. Derek told me he will write the family a letter, which the doctors will see gets delivered, and express his eternal gratitude for the best gift he could receive- a second chance at life. What they do know is that it was from a young male approximately Derek’s age, and it was a perfect match. A family graciousness during a time of sorrow made this all possible. We should all be organ donors. What greater gift if there to give than the gift of life?
Anyone that knows Derek is not surprised that he is doing so well. The doctors were surprised at his quick recovery, but his friends are not. His mental toughness, his positive attitude, his constant smile in the face of adversity, they have been the backbone of his success and his life. This teacher has learned far more from his former student than I ever taught him in his four years at NPHS.
If anyone would like to donate to the enormous medical expenses Derek has, you have two options. One is through his website, which you can also use to keep track of his progress. The other is at the Zion’s bank in New Plymouth.
Derek and I share a special bond because we each coached the New Plymouth baseball team to a state championship. Yes, Derek returned to his alma mater to coach the Pilgrims after I retired from coaching. There was one difference- my team was absolutely loaded, like a royal flush in poker. Anyone could have coached that team to the title. Derek’s team was talented, too, but they earned the title because of his coaching excellence. I know that if I had still been coaching, they probably would not have won that state title.
In closing, I have a message for Derek. When you came through the surgery and I heard the good news, I have to admit that tears came to my eyes. I’m sorry, but they were not tears of sorrow, my friend, but the tears of joy…for the greatest person I know in my life.