Strangers no more
Spokesman | John Stucke
Dan Pelle photo. Rick Anhorn, left, received a kidney transplant from Tom Silver on Jan. 31.
Thomas Silver never waffled. Never had a second thought â€" even as surgeons prepared to slice him open and remove one of his kidneys for donation to a complete stranger.
People like Silver, a 55-year-old Wal-Mart shelf stocker in Newport, Wash., are called altruistic donors in the world of organ transplants. To the sick and suffering, Silver is simply a hero.
About 18 people die each day across the country awaiting a kidney.
So Rick Anhorn is one of the lucky ones.
“Tom gave me an awesome gift,†Anhorn said.
Meeting for the first time this week at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, the two men gave each other a big hug and began sharing stories that illustrated how their lives intertwined.
Anhorn worked as a banker, didn’t take good care of his body and fell ill with type 2 diabetes.
He had been on dialysis for years as his kidney functions failed.
People like Silver, a 55-year-old Wal-Mart shelf stocker in Newport, Wash., are called altruistic donors in the world of organ transplants. To the sick and suffering, Silver is simply a hero.
About 18 people die each day across the country awaiting a kidney.
So Rick Anhorn is one of the lucky ones.
“Tom gave me an awesome gift,†Anhorn said.
Meeting for the first time this week at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, the two men gave each other a big hug and began sharing stories that illustrated how their lives intertwined.
Anhorn worked as a banker, didn’t take good care of his body and fell ill with type 2 diabetes.
He had been on dialysis for years as his kidney functions failed.
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