Shoeshine male gets ‘amazing’ tip of a lifetime — a new kidney

Shoeshine male Pat Dardano sits with longtime patron Randy Haatvedt, who in 2012 donated a kidney to Dardano. (Kidney Foundation of Canada)

A Calgary shoeshine male got a best tip he could ever get from a longtime customer — a critical organ.

Pat Dardano had been shining Randy Haatvedt’s shoes during Pat’s Place inside 5th Avenue Place in Calgary since a late 1980s.

Then Haatvedt heard that Dardano had been diagnosed with a condition famous as Wegener’s disease, that attacks a blood vessels and critical organs.

“Pat’s kidney illness had reached a indicate that maybe he was going to need to go on a transplant list,” pronounced Haatvedt on The Calgary Eyeopener on Thursday. 

“I’d been meditative there was maybe something some-more we wanted to do, when I heard Pat competence need a kidney. I knew my blood form was O disastrous and thought, ‘Gee, maybe there’s a probability here.'”

‘I was only shocked’

Haatvedt spoke to a living donor module people during Foothills hospital, who ran him by a array of tests, before final that he was a compare for Dardano.

Foothills told Haatvedt that one of a conditions was that he had to surprise Dardano of his plan, that Haatvedt had primarily been demure to do, given he was fearful of removing Dardano’s hopes up.

For months, he had been meddling information out of Dardano though tipping him off — things like his final name, his blood form and a name of his doctor.

‘I couldn’t even speak for a few seconds.’
– Pat Dardano, on conference a customer wanted to give him a kidney

Dardano chalked those small questions up to idle gibberish between a customer and himself — until one day in early 2012, when Haatvedt plopped himself onto a chair for a shoe shine.

“He said, ‘Pat, I want to get my boots shined, though we also wish to speak to you,'” pronounced Dardano. “‘I phoned a vital donor [program during Foothills Hospital] and told them we wish to present one of my kidneys to you.’

“I didn’t know what to say,” Dardano said. “I was only shocked. What do we contend to that? we couldn’t even speak for a few seconds.”

At that point, Dardano’s health was failing. He’d had a seizure. He was on dialysis. He roughly wasn’t means to work.

Anxiety struck on night before surgery

Thinking behind to that fatal time in Jul 2012, Haatvedt — now 63 — says he had one brief moment, only before a transplant, where he wondered either he was doing a right thing.

“It was about 90 mins [long], a dusk before a medicine was scheduled to be done,” Haatvedt said.

“We were checked into Foothills Hospital, all set to go, a tests are all done, no some-more compatability tests to be done, and for about an hour and a half that evening, we had a bit of an ‘Oh, my God, what have we gotten myself into’ moment?”

Nothing specific happened to prompt a doubt, he said — it was only an removed impulse of anxiety.

“After that it passed,” he said. “I got a good night’s sleep, was adult a following morning — and divided we went.”

‘It’s been amazing’

The concession took place. 

Now, Dardano is back during Pat’s Place, that he’s been using for 32 years now, given he arrived in Canada from Italy in 1984.

“I’m behind to work now. we can transport again. It’s been extraordinary — [I’m] flattering most normal,” said Dardano.

Dardano still shines Haatvedt’s shoes, and a twin frequently accommodate for coffee as good — and have cooking together each Jul 11, that is their transplant anniversary.

Both group are healthy today.

Sharing stories before Kidney March

They’re both pity their story in allege of a Kidney March, a 100-km travel from Kananaskis Country to Calgary, that kicks off during 8 a.m. Friday in Millarville, just southwest of Calgary.

The impetus raises recognition and supports for investigate and support programs for people with kidney disease.

In a seven-year history, a Kidney Mar says it has lifted some-more than $5 million.

With files from The Calgary Eyeopener

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Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-shoeshine-pat-dardano-kidney-donation-randy-haadvedt-1.4278747?cmp=rss