PAYING IT FORWARD
Kidney recipient places value on helping others
For Kit Walk giving to others has become a way of life. That’s because the 53-year-old has been on the receiving end as well.
When both of his kidneys started to fail five years ago, Walk had to go on dialysis. That in itself, he said, was like a death sentence.
"My arm became useless. I had young kids, and I couldn’t participate in their school activities," said Walk, president of UAW Local 653, which represents about 1,800 workers at General Motors’ Metal Fabrication Division in Pontiac, Mich., where they produce stampings for several GM plants.
He also underwent 11 surgical procedures in six months to stabilize a shunt, eventually placed above his heart, which had two valves to draw out blood and pump in cleaned blood. About five months into dialysis treatments, Walk qualified for placement on an organ waiting list.
"Before you can become an organ recipient you have to show you’re a good candidate, that you’re committed to your health," he said.
For Walk that meant losing 160 pounds and making other lifestyle changes.
But his hard work was all worth it. "It’s no way to live," said Walk of being on dialysis. "You can’t go anywhere, you can’t do anything because you’re tied to that machine."
Walk didn’t have to wait long. Just one month after joining the recipient list, he received his new kidney.
"I was very fortunate," said Walk. "Most people have to wait a year or two for a kidney."
The organ was donated by a woman who died from an aneurysm after giving birth to a healthy baby girl. Walk never knew her, but he thinks of her often.
"She was a courageous woman," he said. "She had the presence of mind that upon her death she gave life to her daughter and to me."
The father of three children, Walk still makes time to pay the gift forward. He has encouraged his members to become organ donors, and he’s spoken to potential organ recipients at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich.
"I believe in the organ donor process. It gave me back quality of life that I had lost going through dialysis," said Walk.
Last year Walk campaigned for Gary Peters, his new state representative; Sen. Carl Levin, and Barack Obama. He’s also training to become a deacon at his church and works with UAW retirees to provide food and other items to a community center in Pontiac.
"I value life more. It’s very precious. I went from a guy who thought I was invincible to someone who values the simple things – the handshake, the hug," said Walk. "Whatever I can do to help another human being, that’s what I’m going to do."
