Teachers make a big impact on their students' lives. One math teacher in Toledo, Ohio, is getting extra credit. Eddie McCarthy had Roman McCormick in his geometry class last year at Whitmer High School. When Eddie learned that Roman needed a kidney, he decided to get tested to see if he was a match.
The test results proved he was the perfect donor, so Eddie decided to donate his kidney to the 15-year-old. Roman’s parents are hopeful this will give him a chance to be a normal teen. The family is extremely grateful to Eddie.
Roman has branchiootorenal or BOR syndrome, a rare hereditary condition. This impacts the ears and kidneys, where the tissues do not develop properly. "It's spelled B-O-R and you can have the B, the O or the R,” Roman’s mother, Jamie Redd, explained. “With Roman, he has the B and the R.”
“We didn't know that his father had it until Roman was diagnosed with it,” she goes on to say. “And then his father had a kidney transplant [last year]. They both had the R, which is 'renal' … The B is for 'branchio', so like, [Roman] had a hole in his chest and two holes in the sides of his ears. They were like divot-size holes in the sides of his ears that he had surgery at 6 months to correct and fix."
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It has not been easy for Roman living with this condition. "I'm not able to eat foods that most normal kids will be able to,” he explains. “I'm not able to be more active because [my] kidneys are slowing down my physical activity." He often feels tired.
His parents decided to take matters into their own hands when his condition worsened, leaving him with stage 4 kidney disease. The next steps would be dialysis. Jamie and Roman’s father, Dan McCormick, began speaking to news outlets about their son to try to find a living donor. They spoke to The Monroe News in Monroe, Michigan, and many local TV news stations, including Toledo ABC affiliate WTVG.
"That story was pretty much our cry for help to get a donor, to get people to want to donate, to be live donors," Jamie explained. "Our goal was to get a live donor because a kidney from a live donor will last longer than from a deceased donor." Their plan worked because Eddie saw it and got tested.
“I went and got tested,” Eddie recalled. “We were matched there and then I just kept going back up to the hospital and doing all the tests that you have to do, and I kept coming back healthy, and it was shown that I'm a match for him." Eddie was hopeful, but taking things one step at a time.
“It just worked,” Eddie gushed. “And it's pretty crazy that it ends up being, you know, like his math teacher … because I know there were a bunch of other people that probably started the process as well. But you know, you got to be a match. It doesn't always work out."
Jamie, Dan, and Eddie want others to know you don’t have to wait until your death to become a donor. “There's people out there who need kidneys … You technically don't need both of yours. So, why not help someone who really really needs it?" Eddie explains. "It's totally worth it to just go for it. Go get checked out and see if you're a match."
“Get checked, because you can be a live donor for someone and help,” Jamie agrees. “You don't just have to be that mark on your driver's license, saying, 'I'm an organ donor.' You can help someone right now, while you're here."
Roman and Eddie are scheduled to go under the knife on July 19, 2023. The transplant and donation surgeries will be at the University of Michigan University Hospital in Ann Arbor, which is about an hour away from Toledo. What a way to spend your summer vacation!
*Disclaimer: The advice on LittleThings.com is not a substitute for consultation with a medical professional or treatment for a specific condition. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem without consulting a qualified professional. Please contact your health-care provider with questions and concerns.
