MINDY BASARA. HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO FOR A FRIEND? WELL, WHEN DENISE HARRIS TOLD RUSS REDHEAD THAT HER HUSBAND AND HIS FRIEND JAMES NEEDED A KIDNEY, RUSS SAID, I’M IN. JAMES HARRIS AND RUSS REDHEAD HAVE FACED OFF AT THE POOL TABLE FOR YEARS. ONE TIME TOURNAMENT RIVALS, THEY BECAME FRIENDS AND NOW THEIR RELATIONSHIP HAS A NEW DESIGNATION KIDNEY BUDDIES FOR LIFE. THE MORNING AFTER THIS MATCH, RUSS WILL GIVE JAMES HIS KIDNEY. IT’S BEEN A LONG, LONG ROAD AND AND JUST THE IDEA OF KNOWING THAT MY HUSBAND HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE LONGER AND AND UM, AND FOR US TO, YOU KNOW, GROW OLD TOGETHER. DENISE HARRIS SAYS HER HUSBAND HAS ENDURED THREE GRUELING YEARS OF KIDNEY DIALYSIS SINCE THIS DAY IS A NEW BEGINNING. THANK YOU. RUSS, BECAUSE YOU HAVE HE’S MY ANGEL. HE’S MY BROTHER. WE’RE FAMILY NOW. WE’RE GOING TO BE FAMILY FOREVER. I’M DOING THIS BECAUSE, LIKE I SAID, IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. AND AND I THINK THAT IF THE ROLES WERE REVERSED, I WOULD WANT SOMEBODY TO STEP UP FOR ME. WHEN ASKED WHAT HE’D LIKE TO SAY TO RUSS, IT WAS DIFFICULT FOR JAMES TO FIND THE WORDS. I WOULDN’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY TO HIM, BUT THANK YOU. I DON’T THINK HE REALIZES, UM, HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO ME TO TO HAVE A LIFE BACK AFTER A FIST PUMP FOR LUCK AND A HUG FOR GRATITUDE, THE MEDICAL TEAM WHEELED RUSS AND JAMES TO ADJOINING HOURS. FIRST, THE TRANSPLANT TEAM USES A MINIMALLY INVASIVE ROBOT ASSISTED TECHNIQUE TO REMOVE RUSS’S KIDNEY. THEN A DOCTOR CARRIES THE HEALTHY KIDNEY TO THE RECIPIENT OR AND A SECOND TEAM TRANSPLANTS THE ORGAN INTO JAMES. NEPHROLOGISTS SAY MANY PEOPLE CAN BE KIDNEY DONORS. IF YOU WEIGHT IS GOOD AND YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE IS GOOD AND YOU’RE NOT TAKING ANY MEDICINE FOR IT, OR IF YOU’RE OVER AGE 50 AND YOUR KIDNEYS ARE WITH BLOOD PRESSURE BUT IS WELL CONTROLLED, AND YOUR KIDNEYS SHOW THAT THEY’VE HAD NO INJURY FROM THE BLOOD PRESSURE, THEN WE CAN BE PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT YOU’RE GOING TO DO FINE. THE DAY AFTER SURGERY, RUSS AND JAMES WERE UP AND WALKING, AND NOW, TWO MONTHS LATER, BOTH ARE RECOVERED AND CLOSER THAN EVER. IT CAN NEVER TRULY UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE THAT MADE IN MY LIFE, AND IT’S NO WAY I CAN REPAY HIM FOR WHAT HE’S DONE FOR ME. JUST FEEL LIKE IF MORE PEOPLE WOULD KIND OF COME DOWN OFF THEIR HIGH HORSE AND MORE OR LESS HUMBLE THEMSELVES TO GIVE SOMEONE ELSE A CHANCE TO REALLY LIVE THEIR LIFE, THIS WORLD WOULD BE A DIFFERENT PLACE. THERE WE GO. JAMES SAYS HE IS FEELING 100% BETTER WITH THE NEW KIDNEY, AND IS LOOKING FORWARD TO TAKING ON RUSS IN A POOL TOURNAMENT SOMETIME. VERY S
Pool tournament rivalry turns into lifesaving friendship after kidney transplant
Pool rivals turned friends become 'kidney buddies for life' with lifesaving transplant
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Updated: 6:11 PM EDT Apr 12, 2024
A former pool tournament rivalry turned into a lifesaving friendship.James Harris and Russ Redhead have become "kidney buddies for life" as part of a testament to friendship and sacrifice in the face of the urgent need for kidney donors in the U.S."It's been a long, long road, and just the idea of knowing that my husband has the opportunity to live longer and for us to grow together," said Harris' wife, Denise Harris.James Harris has endured three grueling years of kidney dialysis, and now has a new beginning."Thank you, Russ, because he's my angel. He's my brother. We're family now. We're going to be family forever," Denise Harris said."I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do, and if the roles were reversed, I would want someone to step up for me," Redhead said.When asked what he'd like to say to Redhead, James Harris struggled to find the right words."I wouldn't know what to say to him, but thank you. I don't think he realizes how much it means to me to have a life back," he said.A medical team at the University of Maryland Medical Center used a minimally invasive robot-assisted technique to remove Redhead's kidney. Then, a doctor carried the healthy kidney to the recipient operating room, where a second team transplanted the organ into James Harris.Nephrologists said many people can be kidney donors."If your weight is good, and your blood pressure is good, and you're not taking any medication for it, or if you're over age 50 with blood pressure that's well controlled and kidneys show they've had no injury from the blood pressure, then we can be pretty confident you will do fine," UMMC nephrologist Dr. Richard Ugarte said.The day after surgery, Redhead and James Harris were up and walking. Two months later, both have fully recovered and are closer than ever."He can never truly understand the difference it made in my life, and there's no way I can repay him for what he's done for me," James Harris said."I just feel like if more people would come down from their high horse and humble themselves to give someone else a chance to really live their life, this world would be a different place," Redhead said.| LINK: Register to become an organ donor
BALTIMORE — A former pool tournament rivalry turned into a lifesaving friendship.
James Harris and Russ Redhead have become "kidney buddies for life" as part of a testament to friendship and sacrifice in the face of the urgent need for kidney donors in the U.S.
"It's been a long, long road, and just the idea of knowing that my husband has the opportunity to live longer and for us to grow together," said Harris' wife, Denise Harris.
James Harris has endured three grueling years of kidney dialysis, and now has a new beginning.
"Thank you, Russ, because he's my angel. He's my brother. We're family now. We're going to be family forever," Denise Harris said.
"I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do, and if the roles were reversed, I would want someone to step up for me," Redhead said.
When asked what he'd like to say to Redhead, James Harris struggled to find the right words.
"I wouldn't know what to say to him, but thank you. I don't think he realizes how much it means to me to have a life back," he said.
A medical team at the University of Maryland Medical Center used a minimally invasive robot-assisted technique to remove Redhead's kidney. Then, a doctor carried the healthy kidney to the recipient operating room, where a second team transplanted the organ into James Harris.
"I don't think he realizes how much it means to me to have a life back."
Nephrologists said many people can be kidney donors.
"If your weight is good, and your blood pressure is good, and you're not taking any medication for it, or if you're over age 50 with blood pressure that's well controlled and kidneys show they've had no injury from the blood pressure, then we can be pretty confident you will do fine," UMMC nephrologist Dr. Richard Ugarte said.
The day after surgery, Redhead and James Harris were up and walking. Two months later, both have fully recovered and are closer than ever.
"He can never truly understand the difference it made in my life, and there's no way I can repay him for what he's done for me," James Harris said.
"I just feel like if more people would come down from their high horse and humble themselves to give someone else a chance to really live their life, this world would be a different place," Redhead said.
| LINK: Register to become an organ donor
