Happy New Year 2023 to all our Daily Pilot and LA Times readers and good health. Life is difficult without health.
On this subject, the final “crowd” for 2023 is about health and the generosity and selflessness of those who step forward to offer their lives as living organ donors. There is no better gift than this.
On January 19th, the Life Savers Foundation of Orange County welcomes the community to its inaugural event at the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach. carol pickupfounding chairman of the new non-profit organization.
Before I go into detail about the organization, I would like to share a backstory. As a journalist, I usually don’t allow this column to get so personal. But in this case it is too important to help many renal failure patients.
Bruce Cook, Heidi Miller, and Donor Chairman of the Life Savers Foundation Carol Pickup.
(Courtesy of Heidi Miller)
With that in mind, I offer my story to “pay forward” so that others suffering from organ failure can find hope. can be obtained.
In early 2012, after trying to stop dialysis at Hoag Cancer Center on intravenous albumin for a year, nephrologist Eric Wechsler, PhD, insisted there was no time to stop. My kidney function was life threatening.
On the first day of dialysis, I entered the clinic on the Coast Highway in Newport Beach at 3:30 pm and attended a scheduled session at 4:00 pm. I was set to take his 4-hour sessions three times each week. Barely inside, the heavy glass door that had disturbed me slammed behind me. Imagine an inmate’s first feelings on his first day in prison, as 25 kidney dialysis patients lay on gray vinyl chairs and examined a large room connected by clear plastic tubing. . The constant beeping and ringing of tall electronic filters.
A dozen male attendants ran tirelessly among the patients. Nurses in the mandated white uniforms paced the cavernous infirmary with its lights so that the powerful plane could find its way to the landing strip. It became deafeningly strong. The attendant rushed to the corner of the infirmary. Moments later, an EMT technician pushes the secure glass door. they had the code. No time to waste.
In one corner, a man screamed “F—” in pain, louder than any other language. A nurse tried to comfort him. He wasn’t the one in danger. The young man in the chair next to me had fallen on one side. The EMT was pounding his chest with enthusiasm.
It ended as quickly as it started. The patient was put on a stretcher and rushed out of the clinic surrounded by dedicated civil servants from the ambulance service. I was still standing by the entrance. As the patient passed by, he noticed one of his EMTs shaking his head, indicating that the man had not survived. I nodded as if I understood.
At that moment, I said to myself, “I can’t do this.”
Five years later, after a long and difficult search for both a possible dead kidney and a hospital hoping for a transplant, I had zero RBI. A few friends stepped forward and then backed off. I didn’t blame them. Not even a second. And yet, apparently, I survived too. I was apprehensive at first, but I continued his 5 years on dialysis. I lived But while dialysis saved me, it also came at a cost. Doctors were not optimistic.
Dr. Jim Doti and Dr. Heidi Miller at a kidney care event at UC Irvine Health.
(Courtesy of Heidi Miller)
Step inside Carol Pickup, patriarchs of the Pickup Martin family who own major hotels, most notably the Balboa Bay Resort and Club on the Coast. Carol has repeatedly offered to sponsor “Donor Awareness” events to tell my story and the serious need of so many people. of kidney patients. The waiting period he is 8 to 10 years. Finally, thank you for handing it over. During my years on dialysis, my health crisis was largely kept a secret. I have never missed a pilot deadline.
In May 2017, just after Mother’s Day, nearly 500 guests arrived at the ballroom at Balboa Bay Resort for a party. Jerry Mandel and his jazz band performed and were attended by many, including the Angels baseball legend Rod CarewTV presenter peter marshalljournalist tom johnson Stu News (former publisher of Daily Pilot) Dr. John Huffmanwere among those who stood and shared personal stories.
In an attempt to make me laugh, as the evening approached I took the microphone and shouted Aaron Trent, event producers, lock the ballroom doors and make sure no one leaves until the donor is found. The donor did not come forward. The door was left open.
Two months have passed. I went back to dialysis.At that time, I received a phone call from a woman in silence. Heidi Miller, a Laguna Beach businessman and former owner of the famous Heidi’s Yogurt franchise, who now runs a boutique in downtown Laguna called Tight Assets.she was told about it by her friend carol lee, of Newport Beach attended. Fast forward, Miller’s offer was generous. After three months of testing, Heidi donated her kidney to me on November 17, 2017.
Heidi Miller awaits transplant surgery in her bed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
(Courtesy of Heidi Miller)
Five years later, delayed by the pandemic, but with the generous passion and support of Carole Pickup, the Orange County Life Savers Foundation is finally happening. Simply put, its purpose is to raise funds to give financial support to potential living organ donors who want to give their lives but need financial support.
Expenses such as time off from work, travel, housing, food and personal expenses are not covered by insurance. It is illegal for the recipient to pay for the organ or to pay any costs associated with the gift.
On Thursday night, January 19th, the official launch will take place in the same ballroom where it all began. Hosted cocktails and fabulous multi-course prime rib Her dinners and desserts welcome guests who come to help me, and Heidi “pays in advance” to help others in Orange Her County.
Jerry Mandel and the Irvine Berkeley Jazz Band are back and I will be joining the band as an American Standard singer. Share more information and solicit donations about the latest medical advances in transplantation. No boring auctions, no long stretched speeches.
Please consider joining the launch. Everyone is welcome. Tickets are $250. For reservations and more information, please contact Heidi Miller. heidimillerkidneydonor@gmail.com Or call (949) 933-4606. Life Savers Foundation of Orange County is a registered 501c3 nonprofit charity. All proceeds directly benefit the grant program.
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