INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 05: during the men’s college basketball game between the Butler Bulldogs and Brown Bears on December 5, 2018, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire)
By Joseph Slacian
Jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
Michael Kaltenmark is used to raising public awareness.
As director of external relations at Butler University and caretaker of Butler Blue, the university’s live mascot, Kaltenmark is always trying to raise awareness of the university and its academic and sports programs.
However, Kaltenmark, a Northfield High School graduate, is now raising awareness in an area one may never have dreamed of having to do – organ donations. It’s an area of extreme importance to him.
For in recent weeks, Kaltenmark announced he needs a kidney transplant and, under doctor’s orders, took to social media to help find a donor.
“I’ve been having to do my own PR,” Kaltenmark told The Paper of Wabash County in a telephone interview on Thursday, May 2. “I’m used to having to do it for the university. Now I have to do my own.
“It’s been crazy, but that’s all really good. That means I’m certainly getting interest and attention toward my own needs, which is phenomenal, so I’m really confident I’m going to get a match and be just fine. One thing I didn’t anticipate out of all of this is that we’re able to generate a lot of awareness to the bigger need of people needing transplants and not having quite the resources I do … or at least the social network to draw upon.”
The transplant list grows every day, Kaltenmark noted.
“There are people on that list who are on that list who are just like me who need a hero and don’t have people to turn to,” he said. “There are a lot of people walking this earth with two good kidneys and they could do without one of them. Just as they’re willing to be a hero for me, they could be one for them. That’s been a cool part of this as well.”
Kaltenmark learned last December that he needed a kidney transplant. He suffers from Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel issue. His kidneys were damaged because of a medication used to help combat the Chron’s. The medication, he said, was improperly monitored, causing the damage.
“When I was still in high school at Northfield, that’s when I became symptomatic,” he said. “At that time we didn’t know if it was Chron’s or colitis. We just knew I was having those issues.
“It wasn’t until I got to Butler, at some point in my undergrad (years) that we figured out it was Chron’s. I was finally able to get off the medication that really knocked the Chron’s into remission. But before that I was on various medication, and it was one of those medications that ended up doing damage to my kidneys.”
While he is considered to have Stage 4 kidney disease, Kaltenmark said he is fortunate in that he doesn’t really notice the effects of it, other than some high blood pressure. One doctor suggested that he try a vegan diet, because the plant-based proteins seem to be easier on the kidneys to process. He did and his numbers improved, allowing him to avoid dialysis and go straight to the transplant list.
As an offshoot of his dietary changes, he said he also has lost some weight, quipping, “I don’t know that I’ve had much to lose. It’s not all bad, but I wasn’t looking to lose any weight either.”
Kaltenmark didn’t plan on drawing the attention to his issues. He had told family members, and his two brothers, Randy and Doug, both underwent testing to see if one of their kidneys were compatible with him.
“They were who I turned to first,” he said. “Siblings are 25 percent more likely to be an exact match and 50 percent more likely to be a half match. And being that I have two older brothers who are healthy, they’re blood brothers, they seemed like great candidates for them to be a match. The statistics showed they would be a match.”
While awaiting word on whether his brothers would be a match, his doctors within the last few weeks placed him on the transplant donor list to receive a kidney. It was the doctors who suggested that Kaltenmark “cast a wider net” in his search for a possible donor.
“The more people that you bring to the table, the easier it is to find a match,” he said, citing his doctors.
That is what prompted the social media post. His post on Facebook has been shared more than 500 times since it was initially posted on April 27, and retweeted more than 800 times on Twitter. The response has been so overwhelming, he later posted “I think we broke the system” at IU Health.
“I’ve received so many emails and texts and phone calls and private messages,” he said. “They’re mostly from people I know, but I know there are people out there I don’t know who have done it. The transplant center won’t give me a number, they won’t tell me, but based on responses they’re giving based on the number of people who have signed up on my behalf, the word they used was ‘overwhelming response.’ So, I know it was a lot.”
“I’m extremely grateful. It just means finding a match for me is just a foregone conclusion at this point. They’ll probably find multiples. It’s just a question of which one is the best. … I feel really fortunate in that regard. And then, like I said, given that there are so many people who have come forward, who knows, there may be the potential to help someone besides me.”
How long it will be before Kaltenmark receives a new kidney remains to be seen. While he is on the list to be a recipient, having to rely solely on the list could mean a four to seven year wait. Bringing a live donor along means he could have a new kidney before the end of the year.
Best case scenario, he said, he could have a new kidney within four months. The maximum wait, he believes, could be up to 18 months.
However, both Kaltenmark and the donor must undergo rigorous testing to make sure of compatibility.
“They’ve got to look at their blood and make sure the blood types match,” he explained. “Then the tissue types match. Then they’ve got to make sure that if the blood types match and the tissue types match, then they have to look at, well, does this person have a health heart? Can they withstand the procedure?
“They have to do a round of testing, and that’s what I’ve been doing the last two or three months as well. I’ve had to get my heart scanned, do a bunch of bloodwork, do a colonoscopy, do dental work so that I’m healthy enough to receive a good kidney and that I’m going to be a good steward of it.”
In the meantime, it’s a waiting game.
“I’m just incredibly grateful for all the people who have unselfishly stepped forward and have graciously come to my aid,” Kaltenmark said. “Not everybody can do that. I get it. There are a handful of people who can, and they have graciously said, ‘Yeah, I would love to give you a kidney.’ And there are other people who can’t for whatever reason, whether they’re too old or medically they can’t. But they’ve been none the less supportive. They’ve lifted me up in their prayers, reaching out and asking me if I need anything.
“The sheer volume of people who have reached out to extend their support and well wishes have just been incredible. I am one lucky guy to have that kind of love and support behind me. If I didn’t feel loved before this week, I sure do now. I’m just really appreciative of that.”