Winning another chance

Frank Negro walks around his living room wearing a white "Team Philadelphia" T-shirt and a bronze medal around his neck.

The souvenirs of last month’s U.S. Transplant Games signify much more than a third-place finish in the 4-by-100-meter relay.

For the 45-year-old Negro, who received a kidney and pancreas transplant on Sept. 2, 2002, the event was about having the chance to enjoy life again.

"It was incredible," the participant said of his trip to the games in Minneapolis from July 27-Aug. 1. "I went from being a South Philly nobody to a place where everybody has stories."

Two years ago, Negro’s loved ones were uncertain he would still be around now, let alone competing in a race. Type I diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, had ravaged his body, leaving his kidneys working at only 15-percent capacity. Negro was going for dialysis treatment to filter the impurities out of his blood three times a week, draining the life out of him in the process.

"I had a lack of spirit. I was depressed, had no energy and was lethargic," recalled Negro, of the 2500 block of South Percy Street. "I would go to dialysis and come home and sleep."

The treatments often caused a weight loss of eight to 12 pounds. Negro never considered the possibility of dying, but his wife feared the worst.

"I was afraid he was going to die because he was always so lifeless," said his wife of 20 years, the former Angela Barabuscio. "He would sleep and sleep. I felt so terrible for him."

Last week, under much happier circumstances, she sat by her husband’s side as he showed photographs of the athletes he met during his week in the Midwest. He shared several inspirational stories, including that of a one-legged athlete who stood up from his wheelchair to toss a softball.

Negro, a 1976 graduate of St. John Neumann High, was the only South Philly representative at the Transplant Games. He also had quite a few years on his teammates — ages 18, 19 and 23 — who helped him win bronze.

The Transplant Games date back to 1990, when the New York City-based National Kidney Foundation organized the event with the support of Novarits Pharmaceutical Corp. The games are meant to increase awareness that transplant recipients can lead healthy lives, as well as to encourage people to discuss organ donation with their families.

Participating in the Transplant Games marked a return to athletics for Negro, who previously coached and played softball at Capitolo Playground, Ninth and Federal streets. A broken right ankle sidelined him in 1999.

The following year, Negro’s health took a serious turn. He was rushed to St. Agnes Medical Center after passing out on the street. His blood sugar had dropped to 21. Blood-sugar levels between 80 and 125 are considered normal for diabetics.

His kidney functions were rapidly dropping, and soon after Negro was preparing for dialysis treatments. He had to eliminate potassium and phosphorous from his diet, which meant cutting out foods like orange juice, citrus fruits and potatoes. Also, Negro’s fluid intake had to be monitored.

The treatments lasted from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. three days a week, leaving Negro little energy. He and Angela thought going away for a few days might help, but it the dialysis schedule pretty much prevented it.

It was no way to live.

"I was dead, but still breathing," Negro summed up.

The lowest point came on a Friday evening in March 2001. Negro had no appetite and was having trouble enunciating his words. The next thing he knew, he was being wheeled into the hospital with a blood sugar of 1,300. The patient spent the next 10 days lying in a hospital bed.

A year and a half later, on Sept. 2, 2002, a fateful phone call came at 2 a.m. The University of Pennsylvania had found a kidney and pancreas match for Negro. Angela nervously waited through the 12-hour transplant operation that followed.

"It was very difficult for me because I knew what was involved," she said.

She still remembers telling Dr. Ali Naji, "He is all I have. Please take care of him."

When she walked into her husband’s hospital room, he had a big smile on his face. He was looking forward to eating some of his favorite foods and an end to his insulin injections, thanks to the pancreas transplant.

The only minor scare came a week and a half after surgery when Negro developed a fever of 104. He was admitted to the hospital for three days to make sure his body wasn’t rejecting the kidney. It turned out to be a sinus infection.

Almost two years later, Frank and Angela are still enjoying life. Negro, who formerly owned a wallpaper store and was employed as a postal worker, is now on disability.

He must take 22 pills a day, down from the 40 a day he was taking following surgery.

The Negros’ success story has inspired the couple to spread some facts about organ donation, including the fact that one organ and tissue donor has the potential of enhancing up to 50 lives and taking up to 50 people off the organ transplant waiting list.

The Gift of Life program — which educates the public about organ donation — sponsored Negro’s trip to the Transplant Games.

Negro credits his primary care doctor, Vicki Bralow, and her husband, kidney doctor Scott Bralow, for keeping him alive. He is also forever grateful to the family of his donor, who was killed in a car accident.

Negro’s incredible journey really hit home when he was standing in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome — home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings — to participate in the Transplant Games’ Olympic-style opening ceremonies. His Team Philadelphia hat is decorated with pins he received from athletes from Pittsburgh, New York, Kentucky, Florida and numerous other spots.

Come next summer, Negro hopes to travel to Canada to compete in the International Transplant Games. His other wish is to contact his donor’s family to let them know what he has achieved with the help of his new organs.

"Part of their son won a bronze medal at the Transplant Games," Negro said.

bgelman@southphillyreview.com