KIDNEY FOUNDATION
Transplant recipient wins at U. S. games
On July 31, 1999, after enduring 3 1/2 years of dialysis, Barbara Breckenridge of Buffalo underwent a kidney transplant.
“I got that kidney, and my whole world changed,” she said.
This past week, the 65-year-old Breckenridge took part in the 2008 National Kidney Foundation U. S. Transplant Games, held in Pittsburgh.
It was the fourth Transplant Games she had attended — and she took home two golds and a bronze. The gold medals were in the women’s 100-and 200-meter dash, and the bronze was for her third-place finish in a five-kilometer run.
Her donated kidney, she said, “was a life-changing gift” that made her appreciate what she had and made her want to do more with her life.
Shortly after her transplant, she heard about the games but didn’t see any events she could participate in.
Her friends knew she was an avid walker and told her she should try running. She did, and now she’s bringing home medals for it.
“It’s just so awesome to see all these people,” she said of last week’s events. “Everyone’s in tears. You’re hugging everyone, and you don’t know the people.”
Breckenridge, director of community relations for the Kidney Foundation, was one of five medalists from the Buffalo area among the 31 local organ transplant recipients who competed in the six-day event, which ended Wednesday.
The Olympics-style games are held biennially, and participants are recipients of life-saving organ transplants of every type, including kidney, liver, heart, lung, pancreas and bone marrow. The athletes compete for medals in 13 sports.
Other local medal winners included Justin Allen, a kidney transplant recipient from the Town of Tonawanda. Allen won three gold medals in track and field for both the men’s 100-and 200-meter dash and the men’s high jump. Allen, 30, also won a silver medal in the men’s shot put.
Adam Henninger, a 14-year-old kidney transplant recipient from Lancaster, won three medals in swimming, which included a gold for the men’s 50-meter butterfly and two silver in the men’s 50-meter freestyle and 50-meter backstroke.
Beverly LoCicero, 65, a liver transplant recipient from Alden, won a bronze medal in the women’s 1,500-meter race walk. Helen Boisaubin, a 12-year-old liver transplant recipient from Amherst, won a bronze medal in the women’s five-kilometer race.
email: mbecker@buffnews.com
