John Greller

John Greller (center) with Mike and Darlene Van Bendegom

John Greller, also known as "The Bear" from his college football days, has no gold medals from the 2006 summer National Kidney Foundation Transplant Games — not because he didn't win any (he won all three swimming events that he entered). He gave the medals to his heroes.

"The Games are not about winning medals but about celebrating life," says Greller, of Orange City, Iowa, who received a kidney - his second transplant - from his son, Brian, on Sept. 30, 2005. "Everybody at the games deserves a gold medal. My heroes are my wife, Janeo, who has been a pillar throughout this journey; our son Brian who has a true servant's heart; and the Mayo Clinic Transplant Team. I thank God every day that I came to Mayo."

Greller gave his first gold medal to his wife, also his primary caregiver, for being with him "in sickness and in health," through 37 years of marriage. He gave his second gold medal to his son, Brian, for giving up his job to take care of his parents in their time of need, and for donating a kidney. He sent his third gold medal to the entire Mayo Clinic team via his social worker, Danielle Peabody. Greller and his wife, are particularly fond of Peabody, because "she was so solicitous" of their needs during their long stay in Rochester. This third medal now hangs in the Charlton 10 lobby of the Transplant Center at Mayo Clinic.

Another Family of Heroes

Greller, now 61, was diagnosed with diabetes at 28. He had his first transplant, a kidney and pancreas, in November 2001, after his kidneys failed. His donor was a young woman named Jodi, who lost her life in a traffic accident. He and Janeo have since developed a very special relationship with Jodi's parents, Mike and Darlene Van Bendegom. Greller first competed in the 2004 Transplant Games in Minnesota, where he won two silver medals in swimming events. The first silver medal was presented to Greller at poolside by the Van Bendegom family at those games.

"It was a very poignant moment," remembers Greller. "We cried in each others arms, not wanting to let go. When we finally did, I took the medal from around my neck and placed it around Darlene's. I told them I would not be here if it were not for their gift."

Soon after the Games, however, Greller's body began to reject the donor kidney. After all they had been through Darlene offered her own kidney to Greller. "It is a testament to how close we have become," says Greller. "We were very touched by the depth of her generosity."

A Second Transplant

Greller had many complications and was very ill following the rejection of his first transplant. He was receiving care from a variety of institutions in Iowa and friends urged him to consolidate his care in one location. Greller decided to seek his second transplant at Mayo Clinic.

"Mayo has an outstanding reputation, and I really like its collegial team approach," says Greller.

Since Brian Greller's kidney was a good match, and he was already caring for his parents, he was the obvious choice as a donor for his father. Greller's second transplant was made more difficult because of eight previous abdominal surgeries to treat a variety of complications from diabetes. The surgeries left scarring that critically narrowed the vein usually used for kidney transplant. A few hours after the transplant, the vein became blocked and the kidney stopped working. Greller's surgeon, Mark Stegall, M.D., immediately took Greller back to the operating room.

"I bypassed the stricture with a vein graft from a deceased donor," says Dr. Stegall. "I have performed a thousand kidney transplants, many of them re-transplants like Mr. Greller's, yet I have never had to do a bypass graft before."

After surgery, Greller and his wife rented an apartment in Rochester so that he could continue to be monitored by the transplant team. During this time he was able to see his first grandson, who was one month old, for the first time - something he never thought he'd live to do. He returned home to Iowa in November 2005, six weeks after receiving his new kidney. By the summer of 2006, he felt well enough to compete in the National Kidney Foundation Transplant Games in Louisville, Ky.

Appreciating the Gift of Life

Today, Greller and his family stay in touch with the Van Bendegoms, a friendship born from the donor family's generosity. Words cannot express the gratitude he feels toward them and toward his own family and his son Brian's lifesaving donation.

"Providence plays a role in this transplant journey," says Greller. "Participating in the Transplant Games is a way to say 'thank you' to your donor and their families who can see what they've made possible. In some cases, a lost life has meant a saved life for a transplant recipient, and the games reflect that. The unique juxtaposition of joy and grief is bittersweet. I am grateful for every day."

2006 National Kidney Foundation Transplant Games, Louisville, Ky.

This year, 1,200 transplant recipients, ages 3 to 84, competed for gold, silver and bronze medals in 12 sports and 37 events. Besides athletic events, the Games featured workshops for donor families, children's programs, educational programs for transplantation professionals and a 5k road race to promote organ donation awareness. The Games also included donor and living donor recognition ceremonies. The event was filled with poignant moments.

At the 2004 Games, a woman had snapped a photo as the Grellers and the Van Bendegoms stood before a memory board, a wall of personal stories about donors and recipients, all obviously moved by the heartbreaking messages they were reading. Karen Kline, the woman taking the picture, shared her own story with the Grellers and Van Bendegoms: her 12-year-old daughter Kelly died prematurely and became an organ donor. Two years later, at the 2006 games, the Grellers returned to the wall and, lo and behold, Karen Kline was there at the same time. It is exactly those types of encounters that the Games are known for — reigniting connections and reinforcing the significance of organ donation.

Pittsburgh will host the next National Kidney Foundation Transplant Games, July 11-16, 2008.