Clinton native’s son, thirteen-year-old Kyle Aiuto, takes home gold in Transplant Games

By DEB WUETHRICH

Thirteen-year-old Kyle Aiuto received a new heart when he was just nine days old. The son of Clinton native Mark Aiuto and his wife, Sharon, was born with a heart defect. His parents were told they basically had two choices after a specialist called in to look at another baby was asked to also examine Kyle, who had a gray coloring.

“They were told they could take him to Georgia where they could do a surgery to rebuild the heart that could help, but it still wouldn’t be able to grow right, or they could fly him to Loma Linda [California] to await a transplant,” said Kyle’s aunt, Tecumseh resident Bonnie Schuler. She said there was a brief delay while decisions were made as to whether a ready and waiting helicopter would be paid for, but finally Kyle and his mom took the trip.

Fortunately, Kyle did receive a donor heart at Loma Linda, and his inspiring story is one of celebrating a rich life after a transplant. One of the ways he and his family have been able to do that is through the U.S. Transplant Games presented by the National Kidney Foundation, which have been taking place biennially since 1990. More than 1,300 transplant athletes, ranging from ages 2 to 83, compete in 12 different sports over a four-day period.

Schuler said Kyle has been attending the Games since he was a baby, and being the youngest organ recipient at the event, he was once on stage with actor Larry Hagman, son of Broadway actress Mary Martin, during opening ceremonies. Hagman, who is most remembered for his role as J.R. Ewing on the TV series Dallas, received a liver transplant in 1995 and has served as a spokesperson for organ donation ever since. Another actor, Ken Howard, also is a spokesperson having had a kidney transplant, a gift from a longtime friend and stuntwoman. Howard’s wife, Linda, also is a stuntwoman.

Kyle has received many silver and bronze medals in track and field and bowling, at earlier events, but this year he outdid himself at the Games held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where many of the nations organ transplants take place. He finally “brought home the gold” in bowling, his favorite sport. To top it off, he was able to do so with several of his Michigan relatives in attendance. Schuler said family members who accompanied her to this year’s event were her husband, Lynn, and also Sue and Orval Rose and George Putze.

“We have gone before and it’s been a lot of fun,” said Schuler, who said they have traveled to Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Columbus, Ohio, for the games. “It’s also very inspiring. We saw people who have double lung and heart transplants and all combinations. It’s just amazing to see them running and showing that they can do anything any other person can do — it’s life after the transplant.”

Schuler said Kyle’s family members were part of Team New Mexico, in support of her nephew, who lives in Albuquerque, but Team Michigan, based in Ann Arbor, also sent 44 athletes to the event and brought home 54 medals. Schuler said team members also swap pins while at the Games, and she has a display of unique and colorful pins fastened to her Team New Mexico credential.

A website for the Games points out that the goal of the activity is to increase public awareness of the critical need for organ donation, to demonstrate success of transplantation and to promote the benefits of fitness and well-being through a transplant athletic program. Recipients of every type of lifesaving organ transplant, including kidney, liver, heart, lung, pancreas and bone marrow, compete for gold, silver and bronze medals as formerly critically ill individuals celebrate their second chance at life and show the world the power of organ donation.

Along with sporting events, there are special ceremonies honoring living and deceased donors as well as donor families.

“Nowadays donor families are sometimes connecting with the recipients,” said Schuler. She said letters are submitted when families feel they are ready and wish to do so but must go through a special clearing program. Many such connections are being made, she said.

“In Pittsburgh we ran into a wife who lost her husband,” said Schuler. “While she was there, she was going to meet the recipients of the organs that he had donated.” She said there were many survivor stories shared at the event.

In Michigan, 2,500 people currently are waiting for a kidney and 3,000 are waiting for other organs. The National Kidney Foundation notes that nearly 75,000 Americans are on a waiting list for a lifesaving kidney transplant alone and 341,000 rely on a dialysis machine to keep them alive.

Schuler said there is a motto surrounding potential organ donation that people might want to consider: “Don’t take your organs to heaven — Heaven knows we need them here.” For more information, contact giftoflife.org or call 1.800.482.1455.