A TRANSPLANT TO THE SIMPLE LIFE: Campground owner wants to bring organ donors and recipients together to share their stories in the great outdoors
As he drove his truck through the pristine campground toward the lake, Dennis Wingers looked at home living the life of a permanent camper.
He's been a semi driver and operated a dairy farm near Cambria during his lifetime, but now he no longer has to wait for a weekend to spend time under the stars.
"We were thinking about (a campground) for many years," Dennis said of he and wife Kathie. "I always enjoyed camping when our kids were younger."
The Wingers took the plunge and bought Kilby Lake Campground near Montello three years ago.
But shortly after they purchased it, Wingers found out he was going to miss the busiest time of the year - Memorial Day weekend.
He was missing it so his life could be saved. And he was missing it so he could live a better life, the one he dreamed of - the one he now has.
Three years ago, Dennis was getting ready to receive a kidney transplant from his niece.
"The first season we opened I had the transplant the day before Memorial Day weekend, which is our busiest weekend," he said. "So my wife ran it with some help.
"She had a busy weekend driving back and forth to Madison."
Wingers was in the hospital for eight days and the surgery went well.
"The day he came home he had to go right to the campground," Kathie said.
"Eight days later I was ready to go back to work," he said. "I've been at it ever since."
The work Wingers is trying to do now is make people aware of the sacrifices donors make. And to honor them, and their families, Wingers is holding a celebration at his campground June 25 to 27 to bring together donors for a free weekend, as well as those who have received a transplant.
It's a chance to hear stories from others, raise awareness of the need for more donors, and to say thank you.
"We're trying to make other people more aware of the possibilities (of helping others)," he said.
The learning curve
Besides operating a campground in 2007, Dennis Wingers had another full-time job - taking care of himself.
He had to get into the habit of taking 24 pills a day so his body wouldn't reject his new kidney, something he still must do today.
"Now, it's pretty easy, but at first it was a full-time job," he said.
It was about three months before he could do any heavy lifting, but everything has worked out as planned since the transplant.
Before the operation, Wingers said he was tired all the time and wasn't feeling well. Through a physical, he learned that his kidneys weren't working properly, and he was going to need a transplant.
The average wait, however, is three years. So Wingers looked to his family.
"I told him I would try to donate," Kathie said. "At the time I figured I wanted to try and save his life. And I'm scared of needles. But for love, you do things you didn't think you would."
Although Kathie's blood type would work, testing turned up some concern when doctors thought she might have Polycystic kidney disease, a genetic disorder, which later proved false.
But the doctors ruled her, and the Wingers' children, out.
Besides running their new campground and Dennis needing a transplant, the Wingers also were building their house overlooking Kilby Lake, their daughter was getting married and their son was graduating from college.
"Things are much easier now," Dennis said.
The sticker
There is a sticker on his driver's license, but Dennis never really thought much of it.
"I knew there was a need for donors, but I never knew anyone personally who had a transplant," he said.
Wingers was about ready to go on dialysis in 2007 when his wife and children were ruled out as donors. And he knew what that meant.
"Well, basically I would not be able to work," he said.
The travel to the hospital three days a week for dialysis would take most of his time.
"Then you might feel relatively good for one day, then the next day you go through it again," he said.
A few months before the surgery, at the funeral of Wingers' brother-in-law, Kathie spoke with her niece Shelley Sutherland.
"And she said, ‘If you don't match, I will donate. She told me at her father's funeral,'" Kathie said.
After testing, Shelley was a match.
"I didn't expect her to go through with it, but she did," Dennis said.
Shortly after the surgery, Dennis noticed how much more energy he had.
The first summer at the campground was a success. And now that donor sticker on his driver's license means so much more to Dennis.
While the transplant has brought him and his niece closer, it's also made the Wingers a voice for donation.
"It has opened my eyes, and that's why we're trying to do this," he said of the weekend to shed light on organ donations.
Dennis got the idea for the free weekend for donors after talking to another recipient last year.
The special weekend at Kilby Campground will not only offer good fishing, but a chance to meet others like Dennis and Kathie.
"We have one seasonal camper here, a lady that is on dialysis that needs a transplant," Dennis said.
The last weekend in June is free to donors and immediate family, and half-price to anyone who has received a transplant. It's a chance for donors and recipients to enjoy a pig roast, hay rides, and tell their stories at the pavilion on the grounds if they would like. And Dennis hopes it becomes an annual event.
"My idea is to have anybody who would like to say a few words, or any recipients tell us their experience, and know we're going to have several donors here," Dennis said. "And I think the donors would appreciate hearing that."
Driving around the 80 acres that hold 128 campsites, the campground is truly a getaway from life's problems.
"It's a beautiful setting here and I enjoy meeting new people," Dennis said of why he wanted to do this for a living. "Just come to get away from it. It's a slower lifestyle."
If You Go
What: Organ Transplant Celebration Weekend. It's a free weekend for donors and immediate family, and for recipients it's half-price.
Where: Kilby Lake Campground, N4492, Fern Ave. Montello. (Exit 106 off I-39, then about 6 miles until campground on the left, just off Highway 23, toward Montello).
When: June 25-27
Call: (608) 297-2344 or 1-877-497-2344.
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