His donor was a Caucasian woman of Muslim faith whom he met while enrolled in a four-day Personal Self Development seminar back in February 2001. During that class, Mike was asked to make an “unreasonable request.” After being puzzled and further prompted to make an unreasonable request, Mike finally said to his potential donor, “Will you give me one of your kidneys?"
On September 11, 2001, the same day America was overwhelmed with New York’s Twin Towers tragedy, Mike was scheduled to receive the “gift of life” from his donor, Patricia Abdullah, a white Muslim woman. Due to schedule conflicts with the surgeons, the surgery then took place September 25, 2001.
Mike was told that it would take him in excess of a year to get back to his normal course of activities such as softball, racquetball, and walking. However, he was able to do these things within 6 months of his transplant. In July 2002, Mike participated in the Dina LaVigna Breath of Life Triathlon Relay where he rode 24.8 miles on his bicycle. September 25, 2002, he celebrated his One Year Anniversary as a “Gift of Life” recipient where he helped raise money for the SALUD Foundation to open the first public dialysis center in South Africa.
He is also working on his autobiography titled, “One Miracle – A Celebration Of Life.” His dream is to educate people on how to give the “gift of life” (i.e. kidney, liver, bone marrow or blood transfusion) and remain healthy in the process by opening his own foundation.
On March 9, 2003, Mike celebrated the launch of his dream – the One Miracle Celebration of Life Foundation (OMCOL). To help celebrate the launch of his new foundation, he hosted “An Evening of Jazz” with Paul Jackson, Jr. and Friends at Spaghettini’s in Seal Beach. Proceeds went to the One Miracle Celebration of Life Foundation.
Since then, Mike has been involved in speaking to kidney patients all over on how they can be diagnosed with kidney disease and live a normal healthy lifestyle. The reason for that is a person that has been through the trials and tribulations of kidney disease can relate to others. If you have never had the disease before, it is difficult to understand what that patient is going through.
There are over 90,000 patients on dialysis and only a small percentage of those are waiting for a transplant. And on a yearly basis over 6,000 Americans lose their battle with kidney disease whether they are on dialysis or not. That is amazing.
Source: One Miracle Celebration of Life Foundation
Every time I saw Mike he was like a brother come with a big hug. I don't think I ever saw him without a smile, and never heard an unkind word pass his lips. God bless his family with comfort and fill the void left by his moving on...
ReplyDeleteKevin
I met Mike while employed at OneLegacy, at a speaking function. I was immediately drawn to his inner light. As someone mentioned, he always had a smile and something positive to say. But more than that he had an inner light that mirrored his faith and joy of life. Thank you Mike for sharing your story with others and for always striving to make things better for everyone. You are loved and will be missed. My condolences to the family for your (our) loss. May you find peace.
ReplyDeleteEsther