Coach's donation gives outfielder a fresh start

Source: Star-Telegram

Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter demonstrated his dedication to his players in a very unique way. He donated a kidney to freshman outfielder Kevin Jordan, whose kidney function reached as low as 8 percent of capacity and who needed 35 pills a day to treat the diseased organ.

Both Walter and Jordan were recovering Tuesday in an Atlanta hospital one day after the transplant was performed.

Lead surgeon Kenneth Newell said both surgeries went well and expected full recoveries for both.

The school says the recovery time for both the 42-year-old Walter and Jordan is expected to be several months.

Keith Jordan says his son, a 19th-round draft pick of the New York Yankees last June, could swing a bat again in 6-8 weeks, and he expects Kevin to enroll in summer school and prepare for fall classes.

As for Walter, he said the full recovery time takes about two months. In a year's time, he'll hopefully be hitting fungoes to a lanky five-tool player from Columbus, Ga.

"I don't think anybody can anticipate how the dynamic of the relationship will change," Walter said. "But Kevin and I are going to be forever joined at the hip, so to speak."

Jordan was diagnosed last April with a type of autoimmune swelling disorder caused by abnormal antibodies. When those abnormalities show up in the kidneys, they can cause blood and protein to leak into the urine and could result in kidney failure.

He wound up on dialysis -- three days a week at first, and then daily. Family members were tested to see if any were a possible match for a transplant, and Walter was tested in December after it was determined that Jordan's relatives weren't compatible.

Walter found out he was a match on Jan. 28, the first spring practice. He told his team three days later.