(Photo submitted)
Two recipients of Zach Dunham’s organs, Tim Baker and Jeff Kimball, met with Zach’s family members for the first time on April 18 at the Life Connection of Dayton office in Dayton. Left to right are: Jessica Dunham (Zach’s sister), heart recipient Tim Baker, kidney/pancreas recipient Jeff Kimball and Brenda Dunham (Zach’s mother).
Clayton woman meets two who
received gift of life from her son By MARILYN McCONAHAY
Independent Staff Writer
mmcconahay@tcnewsnet.com
Note: April is Donate Life Month and Cathi Arends, director of Community Relations for Life Connection of Ohio in Dayton, wants to promote the message of organ and tissue donation by honoring a young man whose death in 2004 resulted in the gift of continuing life for at least five other people. Thanks to Zach Dunham, whose mother, Brenda, lives in Clayton, one will get to see his son graduate college and another will be able to welcome his first grandson.
On April 18, Brenda Dunham and her daughter Jessica, Zach's sister, met two of the recipients for the first time -five years after their transplants - at the Dayton office of Life Connections of Ohio.
One day later, and Tim Baker of Elida would likely not be around today to tell the family of an organ donor how grateful he is to be alive.
Zach Dunham, son of Brenda Dunham of Clayton, was only 20 years old when he lost his life in an accident on April 26, 2004. One day later, his heart was beating inside Baker's chest, bringing him back from the downward spiral in his battle with heart disease.
Baker, now 45, was 36 when he suffered his first heart attack and 41 when he went on the transplant list. By the time he received his new heart, he was on the verge of heading back to the hospital.
"My old heart was down to almost no pumpage," Baker said. "I was giving myself IV's and changing the bag every day. And I was running out of time. I was locked in the house and I couldn't breathe."
"I went on the transplant list in March of 2004. On April 27, the day after Zach's accident, I received the transplant. Now, I can golf and ride bikes with my 18- year-old son," he said. "This was my second chance at life - I have felt like the luckiest person in the world - I'll get to see my son graduate college."
There is a downside to Baker's story, though, he said.
"The bad part was that I was waiting for someone to die. Before our meeting on April 18, I had been putting off seeing Mrs. Dunham, because I was feeling funny about that aspect of it - but I thought she probably understood," he explained.
"After meeting with Mrs. Dunham and her daughter Jessica, I e-mailed them to say that the first best day of my life was to get the heart, and the second best day of my life was when we got to meet Zach's family."
For Jeff Kimball, 54, of Monroeville, receiving Zach's pancreas and one kidney means he will be able to see his first grandson, expected in August.
On the day of Zach's accident in 2004, Kimball's life was grim. He was a "brittle" diabetic, whose blood glucose levels were out of control. He suffered bouts of unconsciousness and was in kidney failure.
"I went to bed every night at 7:30 to begin my overnight peritoneal dialysis," Kimball said. "It takes eight hours - you hope the power doesn't go out."
And there was his driving problem.
"On several occasions driving, I couldn't tell how I'd gotten someplace," he said. "One night I left work for lunch and found myself in the middle of the train yard, surrounded by lots of tracks - I had no idea how I got there."
Kimball was on the transplant list six months and one day.
"I received my transplant at the University of Toledo's hospital," he said. "After 35 years of watching sugar - no more! No more ambulance runs to the hospital at night! I feel great.
"You can't meet the donor, but we got to do the next best thing - we met his mother and sister. I am grateful to them that I can work every day. I'm blessed to be able to keep on going," he said. "And my wife of 34 years - my high school sweetheart - is still putting up with me."
As for Brenda Dunham, she is glad she and her daughter had the chance to meet the recipients five years after the transplants.
"I hadn't been sure how I would feel meeting them," Zach's mother said. "I wondered if I had done the right thing. But Jessie and I want Zach to live on - to see what he has done is amazing to us. Zach was the hero that did it. And these people are so appreciative."
"I hugged Tim and listened to Zach's heart beat - it was wonderful," she said.
Zach's sister, who was 16 when he died, said that meeting Baker and Kimball was a kind of miracle.
"It's kind of unexplainable - I felt every emotion - sad, happy ... everything!" Jessica said. "It was a great day - I felt Zach's heart beating! He was my best friend."
Anyone who would like more information about Life Connection of Ohio can call Arends at 223-8223 or visit www.lifeconnectionofohio.org
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