Kristina Smith Horn | The News-Messenger
FREMONT -- When Chad Hetrick's kidneys were failing, his mother stepped in and donated one of her kidneys to him.
For seven years, Hetrick, 36, of Fremont, returned to a normal, healthy life. But then the kidney began to fail him, and he needed another transplant.
This time, his aunt volunteered to help. A few months after the transplant, his body rejected her kidney.
Today, he goes to dialysis for three hours three times a week while he waits for his next transplant opportunity, said his aunt, Paula Secrist, owner of Tangles House of Hair Design and Tanning.
To help Hetrick and the thousands of people like him waiting for organs, Secrist brought the Green Chair to Tangles on Thursday to raise money and awareness for organ donation. The Green Chair is a national symbol for Donate Life, a campaign to raise support for organ donation.
"It's great to get the word out, because there are a lot of people waiting," Hetrick said. "It can change your life."
The Green Chair campaign started when a woman's father died while waiting for a heart transplant.
"She would go home and see his La-Z-Boy empty, and it would make her so sad," said Erica Reid, workplace partnership coordinator for Life Connection of Ohio.
The chair symbolizes the chairs that so many people who do not receive transplants leave empty when they die.
More than 110,543 people in the United States are waiting for an organ transplant, but an average of 27,000 people receive them, according to information Reid provided.
"That deficit is enormous," she said.
One donor can provide organs and tissue for more than 50 people, according to the information.
Often, people are afraid of being an organ donor, which can be done by registering at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles or at Donate Life Ohio's website. Contrary to fears and myths, organ donation doesn't keep paramedics and doctors from giving people the best possible treatment or prevent them from having a regular funeral, Reid said.
"It makes something good come out of something tragic," she said. "Your ability to save another life is huge for families."
Tangles' staff -- which includes Hetrick's wife, Stephanie Hetrick, and his cousin, Tammy Swinehart -- wants to help get that message out.
"It's so needed, not just for our case," said Chad Hetrick's mother, Cindy Hetrick of Fremont. "It's such a gratifying experience that you've been able to give someone something that they need so much."
The Hetrick family cannot bear the thought of losing Chad, who has spent a decade coaching kids in the Fremont Wrestling Club and working with his son and family members in 4-H. They also raised money during the Green Chair event for his next transplant.
"His wrestlers think the world of him," Swinehart said. "The kids respect him. They look up to him."
He said he does what he can to give back to the community, whose members have helped him so much through his life.
"It's just great to be surrounded by family and people who are willing to help," he said.
Fellow Tangles employee Wendy Todd understands how the Hetrick family feels. Her father, Lindsey fire Chief Tom Overmyer, died in 2006 at the Cleveland Clinic while waiting for a liver transplant. He was 57.
A framed picture of him was placed by the salon's door Thursday.
"It makes me proud that we're doing this," Todd said. "This is really important to me, and I want to help."
Next to the picture of her father was a framed picture of her uncle, Larry Longanbach, a former Sandusky Township fire chief. He died of a heart attack three months after her father, and he donated his eyes, bones and skin tissue.
"A lot of people don't know that they can do that and save people," she said.
"It makes something good come out of something tragic," she said. "Your ability to save another life is huge for families."
Tangles' staff -- which includes Hetrick's wife, Stephanie Hetrick, and his cousin, Tammy Swinehart -- wants to help get that message out.
"It's so needed, not just for our case," said Chad Hetrick's mother, Cindy Hetrick of Fremont. "It's such a gratifying experience that you've been able to give someone something that they need so much."
The Hetrick family cannot bear the thought of losing Chad, who has spent a decade coaching kids in the Fremont Wrestling Club and working with his son and family members in 4-H. They also raised money during the Green Chair event for his next transplant.
"His wrestlers think the world of him," Swinehart said. "The kids respect him. They look up to him."
He said he does what he can to give back to the community, whose members have helped him so much through his life.
"It's just great to be surrounded by family and people who are willing to help," he said.
Fellow Tangles employee Wendy Todd understands how the Hetrick family feels. Her father, Lindsey fire Chief Tom Overmyer, died in 2006 at the Cleveland Clinic while waiting for a liver transplant. He was 57.
A framed picture of him was placed by the salon's door Thursday.
"It makes me proud that we're doing this," Todd said. "This is really important to me, and I want to help."
Next to the picture of her father was a framed picture of her uncle, Larry Longanbach, a former Sandusky Township fire chief. He died of a heart attack three months after her father, and he donated his eyes, bones and skin tissue.
"A lot of people don't know that they can do that and save people," she said.
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