Salem resident will compete a third time in Transplant Games
By KEVIN HOWELL, Salem News staff writerArticle Photos
SALEM- Nearly 100,000 people nationally await life-saving organ transplants, of which more than 2,600 reside in Ohio, according to LifeBanc, an organ procurement agency in Cleveland.
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), as of July 4, 2,858 organ transplant candidates reside in Ohio, 2,250 of which need a kidney.
Every 13 minutes, a new name is added nationally to the transplant list and everyday 19 people in the United States die from organ failure while waiting a transplant, according to UNOS.
After battling diabetes for 22 years, Salem resident and former Salem High School golf head coach Fred Girscht is all too familiar with these statistics. He received a kidney/pancreas transplant on March 27, 2001 from Rob Gates, who died in a car crash in Cleveland.
Through competition in the National Kidney Foundation's U.S. Transplant Olympic Games in Pittsburgh which opened Friday and run through July 16, the 51-year-old Girscht will have an opportunity to show just what organ and tissue donating can accomplish.
See PROFILE, Page 4A
"These games are about more than competition," Girscht said. "They are raising awareness that organ donation can save a life and show what transplantation can do for others."
Perusing reading materials in the waiting room before a check-up visit with his doctor in 2003, Girscht came upon a brochure for the games and quickly became intrigued. After discussing it with his wife, Brenda, he entered the competition.
Having previously participated in the games in 2004 and 2006, Girscht placed second in golf both times.
And according to Girscht, the games provide an opportunity for him to make the most of his second chance at life.
"It's a challenge to maintain health and be a healthier person for my family," he said. "I got a second chance at life and I'm going to try to make it last a little longer."
At the very least, he is doing things he never thought possible after being diagnosed with diabetes, Girscht said.
"The games drive me to be more physically fit," he said. "I'm doing things I didn't think I could do again. I ran a 5K race in Kentucky in 2006, which is something I never would have done prior to being involved in these games."
Supported by the Salem Golf Club and joining 58 other athletes aged 9 to 80, Girscht will compete in the 5K road race today, the individual golf Monday morning and the 800-meter and 4x400-meter relay races Monday afternoon.
Although he excels at golf, Girscht said he likes the 5K race because it is a tribute to the Kidney Foundation in which anybody can participate and is not really race, allowing participants to set their own pace in a display of appreciation and support of the foundation and those who have lived through the transplantation process.
Similar to the traditional Olympic Games, the U.S. Transplant Olympic Games is a multi-day, multi-event competition, but with teams divided by states and regions instead of countries. The games are not just for transplant recipients, though, with events and activities for recipients' families, donor families and living donors, bringing together everybody affected by an organ or tissue transplant.
Events for transplant recipients include sports ranging from the Olympic stalwarts basketball, swimming and track and field to the more unconventional badminton, bowling and golf. Workshops, open forums and recognition ceremonies provide an opportunity for recipients, living donors and donor families to interact.
And as much as he enjoys the athletic events, Girscht said his favorite part is the just that -- talking with the donor families about the ones they lost; meeting with other athletes and their families and discussing their sicknesses prior to transplants.
"The interaction is the most powerful part of the whole event," he said. "Getting to know others who have gone through a similar life-altering experience and meeting those who had a hand in saving a life is amazing and very comforting."
Girscht has been married to Brenda for 30 years and the couple have four children, Susan, Terry, Melinda and Samantha, and two grandchildren, with one on the way. According to LifeBanc, for which Girscht volunteers, he has seen several milestones in the lives of his children since his transplant, which include walking one of his daughters down the aisle at her wedding, witnessing the birth of his son's baby and seeing his youngest daughter graduate from high school.
For more information on the U.S. Transplant Olympic Games visit www.transplantgames.org. To become a registered organ and tissue donor, say yes at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles or visit www.lifebanc.org.
Kevin Howell can be reached at khowellsalemnews.net
