A lot of coaches talk about a team being a family when they recruit player.
Normally that is just BS, coaches will say anything to get the best players on their team. It is more about perception than reality. Tom Walter though put his money where his mouth is.
Here are the details:
Wake Forest freshman outfielder Kevin Jordan needed a kidney transplant. None of his family members was a suitable match for a donation.
That’s when his coach, Tom Walter, stepped in.
Both men are recovering at Emory Hospital in Atlanta after Walter donated a kidney to Jordan on Monday. The lead surgeon on the operation, Dr. Kenneth Newell, said the surgeries went well and that both men are expected to make full recoveries.
“When we recruit our guys, we talk about family and making sacrifices for one another,” Walter said before the operation, according to USA Today. “It is something we take very seriously. I had the support of my family, Wake Forest and my team. To me it was a no-brainer.”
No matter what anyone tells you, giving up a kidney isn’t a “no brainer”. You don’t need both kidneys to live, but it is nice to have a good back up kidney like a good backup quarterback if your starter gets hurt.
Tom Walter didn’t have to do this, there is no such thing as a simple surgery, but he proved without a shadow of a doubt when he says the team is a family, he means it.