Bonnie's story is how Stafford and Kyle live on today...

~ Bonnie and Julie!

From Julie Orchard, Community 4 Archon:

I was fortunate to meet Bonnie from Team Upstate NY on Sunday. She told me that she was a double-kidney transplant recipient. The interesting thing I learned about kidney transplant is that they don't remove the old kidneys, but leave them in. So Bonnie actually has four kidneys.

She received her first kidney on Dec. 25, 2001. I couldn't believe it, what a gift.... Bonnie received her kidney as a direct donation from her daughter's cousin through marriage. Stafford, a 51-year-old man, had told his family that he wanted to be an organ donor before he was killed in a car accident. Bonnie has a rare blood type, so the chances of Stafford being a match were slim. After going through the testing, it turned out it was a match and Bonnie received her transplant.

For the first two weeks, the kidney was not functioning and Bonnie was being injected with 21 bags of antibiotic fluids. The doctors realized the kidney had an infection and probably had been traumatized in the accident. They started a new round of antibiotics and the kidney started functioning. After five weeks in the hospital Bonnie was released. The kidney functioned for three years, and then Bonnie went into kidney failure.

Bonnie had to wait a year before she was placed on the kidney transplant list. There was no way of knowing how long it would be because, as previously stated, Bonnie has a rare blood type. Bonnie started to take other medical measures while waiting for her transplant. Her brother had talked her into going down to Florida before the holidays. The night before Bonnie was to leave, she was all packed, had her bags in the car and was prepared for a 6:00 a.m. flight. She received a call saying there was a kidney, but she was told not to get her hopes up, as there were two people on the list ahead of her.

Bonnie's sister came over and they were caught up in the mix of emotions. They quickly started to repack Bonnie's bags from a vacation to going into the hospital. She received another call about doing testing, but was again told not to get her hopes up. Bonnie already had all of the preliminary tests done because of the other medical measures she had been ready to take. Bonnie got the call she was a match, the kidney was hers. She asked about the other two people on the list, but this information could not be revealed to her.

When Bonnie got to the hospital, she learned the donor had been just 17 years old. Why did a young man have to give his life so she could stay alive? She wondered, how was this fair? On Dec. 14, 2005, Bonnie received her second kidney transplant. After just six days in the hospital she was released.


Bonnie waited a year before she went through the correct means to contact her donor family. She did not hear anything back. At the 2006 games in Louisville, Bonnie was told that her donor family was there and that she would be meeting them. She wasn't prepared, but she was overwhelmed and overjoyed. She ran around the city that day getting gifts, not knowing how to thank them or how to share all of her thoughts; she was a nervous wreck and showed up half an hour early. They were not there at the scheduled appointment time and, initially, she thought they had changed their minds. But the Cronin family did end up coming, and it was an emotional meeting.

Their son Kyle hit a patch of black ice and been in a car accident. His mother is an EMT and was actually called to the scene.... Kyle, a junior EMT, had told his mother that he wanted to be an organ donor. He suffered from Cystic Fibrosis, so not all of his organs could be donated; however, both of his kidneys were viable and Bonnie received one of them. Kyle's family lives near Buffalo, NY and they have become a second family to Bonnie. In fact, they attended the games with her. Bonnie and the donor family are being featured in a documentary by Rochester Institute of Technology students.

Bonnie was just one of the people I met over the weekend, but her story really touched and moved me. I learned so much more about Bonnie - and I hope that I will see her at other NKF events in the Rochester area!