A second chance at life

Being born without a left kidney did not hold Oceanside resident Howard Fields back from living his life to the fullest. But in the mid-1990s, after weeks of pain, a visit to the hospital and a diagnostic ultrasound confirmed that there was trouble with his organs, Fields was given the option to have his kidney removed or face life-threatening organ failure.

After being placed on a waiting list for months, Fields received a call from Mount Sinai hospital in the fall of 1994 telling him that a donor had been found: Charles Tyler, son of co-worker Steve Tyler who had worked closely with Fields for years at the Risk Management Advisory company. Charles Tyler was killed after he fell and hit his head on one of the trails in Park City in Utah, suffering serious brain damage. Despite being rushed to the University of Utah’s medical center, Tyler did not survive treatment and his family decided that his organs and tissues should be donated to help others. Steve Tyler soon contacted Fields, who he learned had been on a waiting list in New York for a long period of time. After confirming that the blood and tissue types matched up, on Jan. 1, 1995, surgery was performed to replace Fields’ missing kidney.

A few months later, Fields was back on his feet and functioning normally thanks to the newly implanted organ. Always an athlete, he decided to first participate in the biannual Transplant games in 1996 and has been doing it ever since. Sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation, the transplant Olympics are open to any man, woman or child who has received a life-saving organ transplant.

This year Fields won the silver medal in the 50-59 age group for table tennis, as well as a silver medal in badminton. He was also recently awarded the gold medal for doubles tennis as part of “Team Liberty” along with partner Harvey Weinberg, a heart and kidney transplant patient. Other events include golf, track and field, swimming and bowling, and provide participants an opportunity to talk about their struggles in overcoming adversity.

“The benefit of transplanting an organ and tissue are life-changing,” Fields said. “By participating in the games, I hope to raise awareness for organ donors in the future.”

For more information on the Games or organ donation call the National Kidney Foundation at (800) 622-9010 or visit www.transplantgames.org.