No ordinary game - Transplant recipients prepare for annual Games

PAUL SLOTH paul.sloth@journaltimes.com

Joe Guzdek, left, and Josh Bergeron, will be competing in the transplant games in Madison this weekend. Guzdek is a kidney transplant recipient, and Bergeron is a heart recipient. Photo Wednesday July 28, 2010. Mark Hertzberg mhertzberg@journaltimes.com Buy this photo at jtreprints.com

RACINE - To the naked eye, it looked like any other pick-up basketball game, three guys shooting hoops on a summer afternoon in the driveway of a home in the 2600 block of Illinois Street.

The family and friends who gathered to watch knew differently. The incision that ran nearly the length of Josh Bergeron's chest made it clear that this was no ordinary basketball game.

It wasn't as easy to see what Joe Guzdek had been through, but he's been through a lot.

Guzdek and Bergeron are transplant recipients. Bergeron, 25, had a new heart put in after the old one failed. Guzdek, 36, has a new kidney.

Brett Bezotte of Racine, the third man shooting hoops in Guzdek's driveway, he's their coach.

Yes, on Wednesday, Guzdek and Bergeron weren't playing an ordinary game of pick-up basketball. They were training for this weekend's U.S. Transplant Games in Madison, where transplant recipients from around the country will gather to compete in a variety of events. The games are being held through Wednesday.

Guzdek, who grew up in Kenosha, is closing in on his 13th anniversary with his new kidney. This will be the fifth transplant games in which he's participated.

"I go every year they have them. You get to show that you're actually doing something with the gift that you were given," said Guzdek, who sells flooring at Lowe's Home Improvement in Kenosha while he works on a master's degree.

Bergeron, a student, traveled from Eau Claire to Guzdek's house in Racine to warm up for this weekend's games. The two men participate in as many events as they can, including 3-on-3 basketball, as part of Team Wisconsin.

The games, sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation, are held every other year in cities around the country. More than 1,500 athletes are expected for this year's U.S. Transplant Games.

The games, however, are more than just an opportunity for transplant recipients to show off their athletic abilities. The four-day event is a chance for family and friends of donors and recipients alike to celebrate.

"Other than the competition, I love the competition, it's just getting to meet other people ... and just hear everybody else's story," Guzdek said. "Everybody's story is a little different, but it's all under one umbrella of just trying to increase awareness about donation."

Transplants: By the Numbers

• 104,748 U.S. patients are currently waiting for an organ transplant; more than 4,000 new patients are added to the waiting list each month.
• Every day, 18 people die while waiting for a transplant of a vital organ, such as a heart, liver, kidney, pancreas, lung or bone marrow.
• Because of the lack of available donors in this country, 4,573 kidney patients, 1,506 liver patients, 371 heart patients and 234 lung patients died in 2008 while waiting for life-saving organ transplants.
• Nearly 10 percent of the patients currently waiting for heart transplants are people under 18 years of age.
• Acceptable organ donors can range in age from newborn to 65 years or more. People who are 65 years of age or older may be acceptable donors, particularly of corneas, skin, bone and for total body donation.
• An estimated 12,000 people who die each year meet the criteria for organ donation, but less than half of that number become actual organ donors.

To learn more about organ donation and transplantation check online at http://www.kidney.org.
Source: The National Kidney Foundation