INDIANAPOLIS —
Colin Newton is willing to go through some pain for his friend Caleb Johnson.
In fact, Newton is giving up a kidney for Johnson during Indiana’s first “Twittercast” of a live transplant surgery on Wednesday.
Both men and their families gathered Monday for a news conference at Indiana University Health Hospital in Indianapolis where they and urological surgeon Dr. Chandru Sundaram said they hope to inform the public about how being a living donor can save a life.
“The real star in this room is Colin,” Sundaram said of the former Terre Haute man who is donating one of his kidneys.
Colin and Caleb have a pretty solid relationship, the two 30-something men agree. They were once co-workers, and found that they share the common interests of hunting and fishing. Colin is a 1997 graduate of Terre Haute South, Caleb a 2000 graduate of Sullivan High School.
When Caleb developed kidney failure from a fast-acting form of Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis, or FSGS, he knew he would one day need a kidney transplant. FSGS is a condition in which millions of tiny filters in the kidney become badly scarred and damaged so they no longer filter blood properly.
He was diagnosed in April 2011, then went on dialysis Dec. 15, 2011. While the six-day-a-week dialysis eventually allowed Caleb to regain some of his mobility, he knew he needed a more permanent fix. Unfortunately, the waiting list can be years long for a donor kidney.
Caleb has been off work since November, when he had to leave his job as a manager at a coal gasification plant because of his disease.
It was over dinner one evening with his friend Colin and Colin’s wife, Megan, that Caleb said he needed a kidney transplant, and that a live donor would speed up the process. It was a hard topic to bring up, Caleb said — asking a friend if he would donate a kidney. It turned out that Colin was the same blood type, and he offered to be screened to see if he was a good match.
Colin said he learned about the risks associated with a transplant, and he talked to family members about it, especially his wife of three years, and his parents, Joe and Jeani Newton of Terre Haute. He said he realized that everyone in his family had been blessed with good health, so he felt he could share a kidney with his friend.
“I know that karma comes back around,” he said. “If it comes up that I need help some day, I know someone will help me.”
Jeani Newton said she and her husband Joe support their son’s decision 100 percent.
“I’m scared, because I’m a mom,” Jeani said, adding that Caleb’s mother is just as concerned about the health of the two young men. And Jeani agrees with Sundaram that Caleb is the “star” of the transplant.
“He has just surpassed everything we could want for him, as a man, and as a human being,” Jeani said of her son’s decision to donate a kidney to his friend. “It gives me goosebumps. It makes me so proud. It couldn’t happen to two nicer young men.”
Tom and Jackie Johnson joined their son at the news conference, and Caleb’s girlfriend, Jodeana Pirtle, was also there for support.
They were comforted by the assurances of Sundaram, who will be performing Colin’s surgery. Caleb’s surgery will be conducted by Dr. William Goggins. The transplant nephrologist is Dr. Tim Taber.
The surgeries will be going on at the same time, with Colin’s starting first, as undertakes the complicated procedure of carefully removing the healthy kidney. The kidney will be immediately taken to an operating room next door where Caleb’s body will be ready to receive it.
The recovery will be easier for recipient Caleb than for donor Colin, Sundaram said.
“The only thing I can do is hurt him,” Sundaram said of the donor. “It’s for a good cause, but the best I can do is to limit that pain.”
Sundaram said he began doing transplant surgeries 10 years ago, and he has had a live telecast to an audience in the past. But the Twitterfeed will be a different medium that can hopefully inform a new audience about the benefits of being a live donor.
Those on Twitter can follow the Twittercast by following the hashtag #calebskidney, named after the transplant recipient, starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Both surgeries are expected to wrap up no later than 1 p.m.
“I think there is a huge pool of people who are wanting a kidney, and who are interested in this,” Sundaram said of the Twitter experience. “Any amount of education will help. The more people who are exposed to this, it will help.”
He also noted that there is a big difference between signing up to be an organ donor on a driver’s license (which is great) and making a live donation.
The public will learn about that by following the Twitterfeed.
While he personally will not be Tweeting — that is the job of hospital public relations coordinators Gene Ford and Kristofer Karol — Sundaram said Twitter will not be a distraction during the surgery.
“If I couldn’t take care of Twitter with all that’s going on [in surgery], I shouldn’t be doing this,” he said, laughing.
Colin’s surgery will be laprascopic, with tiny incisions made in the patient’s torso to insert the video camera and instruments that will be used to disconnect blood vessels and tissues from the healthy kidney. The doctor and surgery team will view the surgery on a monitor.
“It’s like a video game,” Sundaram said, “but I have to win every time!”
The outcome of Wednesday’s transplant should make winners of both Caleb and Colin.
Reporter Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @TribStarLisa.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Lighter side: Megan Newton and her husband Colin along with Caleb Johnson enjoy a lighter moment at the press conference regarding the kidney donation/transplant happening Wednesday. The operation will be broadcast live via Twitter during the procedure at the Indiana University Health Hospital in Indianapolis. Colin Newton is donating a kidney to Johnson, who had to start dialysis late last year.
-
Lighter side: Megan Newton and her husband Colin along with Caleb Johnson enjoy a lighter moment at the press conference regarding the kidney donation/transplant happening Wednesday. The operation will be broadcast live via Twitter during the procedure at the Indiana University Health Hospital in Indianapolis. Colin Newton is donating a kidney to Johnson, who had to start dialysis late last year. (Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis)
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Wife's concern: Megan Newton shows her concern for her husband Colin as he talks about his part in the kidney transplant operation Wednesday. Colin Newton is donating a kidney to his friend Caleb Johnson.
-
MET061112kidney sudaram.jpg
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Listening: Caleb Johnson, right, listens while Colin Newton talks with a member of the media shortly before their press conference in Indianapolis Monday afternoon. Newton is donating a kidney to Johnson on Wednesday. In the foreground is s T-shirt promoting organ donation.
Discussion
Friend-to-friend kidney donation state’s first to be live on Twitter
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Illinois senator apologizes for Nazi remark
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Sen. Donne Trotter has apologized for remarks that compared a member of Gov. Pat Quinn’s cabinet to a Nazi.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 22, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Tuesday and Wednesday, based on jail records.
-
Rose-Hulman professor researching ways to make homes storm safe
Tornadoes produce greater uplift forces than hurricanes, which can flatten homes such as in Moore Okla., south of Oklahoma City.
-
Group wants to connect downtown Terre Haute with the Wabash River
Fairbanks Park is underutilized.
The Wabash River is peaceful and inviting, but there is some concern about its cleanliness as well as pollution levels. Also, people can’t get on the river unless they have a boat. -
New conservancy district appoints first directors
Members of the first board of directors of a new lake conservancy district were appointed Tuesday by the Vigo County Board of Commissioners.
-
Vigo law enforcement signs Triad charter to protect seniors
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller joined Vigo County law enforcement and community activists Tuesday to sign the county’s first Triad charter, becoming the 22nd Triad in Indiana.
-
Wabash Valley Red Cross wraps up Save the Day Campaign
The American Red Cross Wabash Valley Chapter’s 2013 annual meeting concluded the 17th annual Save the Day Campaign, and the results lifted the spirits of all who were involved.
-
Some Vigo roads washed out
Spring storms resulted in $250,000 in damages to roads in southern Vigo County, with costs including sand and labor to save homes near river bottoms, said county highway Assistant Superintendent Dan Bennett.
-
County Council votes $78K toward rail spur
County officials voted Tuesday night to make good on a 2011 promise to help improve a railroad spur just north of Terre Haute for Menard Inc.
-
Spring flooding damages future CSO holding lagoon
Flood waters from the Wabash River have done costly damage to one of the city-owned “lagoons” on former International Paper property.
-
Vigo tops state average for IREAD-3 scores
The Vigo County School Corp. exceeded the state average in the percentage of students passing the state’s mandatory Grade 3 reading test, IREAD-3.
-
Storms cause minor damage in Valley
Tuesday morning storms in the Wabash Valley caused thousands of Duke Energy customers to lose power.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 21, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Monday and Tuesday, based on jail records.
-
UPDATE: Damage surveys show 2 weak tornadoes hit near Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — The National Weather Service says storm surveys show two weak tornadoes struck central Indiana.
-
Storm causes scattered Indiana power outages
INDIANAPOLIS — A line of thunderstorms that moved across Indiana caused scattered building damage and power outages for several thousand homes and businesses.
-
Kindergartner diagnosed with MD treated to a day with the fire department
“He’ll just never forget this day,” Stacey Manley said, a little bit tearfully, as she watched her smiling 6-year-old son Carter sitting happily in the captain’s seat of Fire Engine 2.
-
Casey, Illinois aims for another world record
The town of Casey, Ill., may soon weave its way into the record books as the small town with the most world records. After setting records for the world’s largest wind chimes and the world’s largest golf tee, Casey is now looking to become home to the world’s largest knitting needles and crochet hook.
-
Rose-Hulman projects will promote growth, learning for people with physical challenges
Life changed dramatically for college engineering student Drew Christy on Feb. 22, 2008 when he was involved in an auto accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
-
‘500’ gas stations being sold to Speedway LLC
After several decades in business, the area’s familiar “500” gasoline stations and convenience stores will soon be missing from the roadsides of Vigo and Sullivan counties.
-
Terre Haute woman faces 14 charges
A Terre Haute woman faces 14 criminal counts after her arrest Friday on drug-related charges.
-
Two adults injured in ATV accident
Two adults were injured Sunday evening while riding an all-terrain vehicle near Lexington Farms Subdivision off Moyer Drive in southern Vigo County.
-
Vigo schools’ medical claims down 4 percent
The Vigo County School Corp.’s medical claims were about $13 million over the last 12 months, down 4 percent from the prior year, said Diane Titchenell, an Anthem account manager that works with the school district.
-
2013 Government Directory now available
The 2013 Government Directory is now available.
-
UPDATE: 5 killed, 6 injured in I-70 van crash in Illinois
ST. LOUIS — A van carrying church members returning from a California gathering careened off of a southern Illinois freeway and overturned several times today, killing five people and sending six others to hospitals, authorities said.
-
2 children reported dead from Indianapolis fire
INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities say some autistic children lived in the Indianapolis condominium unit where a fire has killed two children.
-
Tighter Indiana drunken driving law seems unlikely
INDIANAPOLIS — Some key Indiana legislators say it’s unlikely that the state will any time soon go along with a federal safety board’s recommendation that the threshold for drunken driving be cut nearly in half.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 20, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, based on jail records.
-
Life-Size Ping Pong: Valley pickleball tourney draws large crowd to Brittlebank Park
It’s been described as “ping pong on steroids.”
Some people call it “life-size ping pong where you stand on the table.” -
Boat trip aims to raise awareness about Lewy Body Dementia
In 2013, the Year of the River, it makes sense to link a grand adventure on the Wabash River with a good cause.
-
Legislature had little taste for alcohol bills
When it comes to alcohol, the 2013 legislative session may be marked more by what it didn’t do to boost booze sales than what it did.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Illinois senator apologizes for Nazi remark
Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain
Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro
Raw: Costa Rica Volcano Roars to Life
Today in History May 22
Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion
Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Raw: Aussie Zoo Shows Off White Rhino Calf
Families Begin Returning to Their Homes in Moore
Reunited Dad, Son: 'We Just Praise God'
Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
Protests Outside Cincinnati IRS Office
Moore, Okla. City of Reunions, Tears After Storm
Raw: Aerial View of Moore Tornado Damage
Slow Pokes: Acupuncture Helps Sick Turtles
Former Rep. Weiner Running for New York Mayor
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air!
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
Olivia Munn Flaunts Her Bikini Bod
Britney Spears Under Fire Once Again For Being A Bad Mom
Arias Tells Jury What She'd Do if She Gets Life
The all-new Xbox One
RAW: Massive tornado strikes Oklahoma
Nidal Hasan paid $278K while awaiting trial
VIDEO: Teacher reunites mother and son after tornado levels elementary school in Oklahoma City
Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
Jennifer Lawrence Gets Naked and Painted Blue as X-Men's Mystique
Pickler's Dance Moves Cause A Stir
