It was not that long ago when Scott and Heidi Schukraft received the message that no parent ever wants to hear: "Your child is sick, and you need to get him to the hospital. Now!"
The Schukrafts are among the lucky. Next month, their 17-year-old son Andrew will celebrate his first year with someone else's kidney filtering the blood that passes through his body. Life has returned as close to normal as it can be for a teenager in his final year of high school, say his mother, a school teacher, and his father, a former golf course superintendent near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Days spent in dialysis have been replaced with more important things. "The first Saturday we didn't have to go to dialysis we got in the car and went on a college visit," said Heidi Schukraft.
"We realized we'd taken a lot of things for granted."
The Schukrafts don't take much of anything for granted anymore, and their story is one of luck, love and the power of limitless friendship.
Only five months had passed from that day in August 2015 when Andrew Schukraft was diagnosed with an acute kidney disorder known as IgA Nephropathy and Feb. 17, 2016, the day he received a new kidney.
His "new" kidney was supposed to come from longtime family friend Mark McCormick, the 46-year-old superintendent at Huntsville Golf Club in Shavertown, Pennsylvania, who, despite the age gap, turned out to be a perfect match for Andrew. Instead, it came from an unknown 19-year-old donor who was killed in a car crash two weeks before the transplant was scheduled to take place.
The despair and anguish felt by one family opened the door to hope and healing for another.
For an adult needing a kidney transplant, the average wait time for a deceased donor is 5-10 years. For a minor, the wait time can vary from a few weeks to a few years depending on the state. For Andrew, the wait time was estimated at about a year. That's not awful considering there is a constant list of about 2,000 children nationwide in need of a new kidney.The Schukrafts debated on whether to wait for a deceased donor, or seek a living donor willing to make such a sacrifice.
"It was not an easy decision," said Scott Schukraft, now the principal of Elite Sports Turf and Landscape Management. He has been a TurfNet member since 1994.
Ultimately, they decided to at least seek a living donor in hopes of speeding up the process for their son, who was undergoing dialysis four hours a day three days per week at a hospital an hour-and-a-half from home.
Heidi started a blog to tell Andrew's story, since, after all, there is no real conversation starter when your end game is to talk someone out of a kidney. To the Schukraft's surprise, nearly two dozen people, including McCormick, stepped forward offering to help their son.
McCormick's family and the Schukrafts have been friends for more than 20 years. It was Scott Schukraft, who in 1992, when he was superintendent at Huntsville, hired McCormick as an assistant. Today, their wives teach at the same school and McCormick's daughter, Payton, is classmates with Andrew, who spent a summer on a mower at Huntsville working for McCormick. When he learned of Andrew's condition, McCormick said stepping forward to help was an easy choice for him and wife Janel.
"I talked to my wife about it, and she was all for it," McCormick said. "I've known Andrew since he was born. They needed help, and I was in a position to do something about it."
McCormick, and others, stepped forward within weeks of Andrew's diagnosis, which came a week after what should have been a routine sports physical. A soccer player at private Wyoming Seminary school, Andrew tested positive for high blood pressure during the exam. Doctors, figuring nervousness might be the cause, told his parents to monitor his blood pressure at home and return in a week. Nothing changed throughout the week, and seven days later, Andrew's already-high blood pressure was even higher. Testing revealed Andrew's kidney condition, prompting that ominous call: "Get him to the hospital. Now!" "It was shocking news to hear at first," Heidi said. "We'd been at Hershey Park the day before, and he was having fun with his cousins. It didn't dawn on us that there was a major medical issue. We had no idea it was anything life-threatening."
The next several weeks were a whirlwind of treatments for Andrew and a barrage of information for the Schukrafts to digest. Andrew spent eight days in the hospital receiving dialysis. His mother never left his side.
"It was a lot of information, and I remember asking 'is this really happening?' " she said. "At the same time, he's looking to his parents for help. We had to keep our composure. I remember thinking 'I can't fall apart in front of him.' "
IgA Nephropathy, also known as Berger's disease, inhibits the kidneys' ability to filter waste from the blood. Left untreated, the prognosis ranges from remission to total kidney failure.
It was Scott Schukraft, who in 1992, when he was superintendent at Huntsville, hired McCormick as an assistant..."
Once willing donors were identified, they were tested for a blood type match. Eventually, doctors whittled their list of volunteers to three and then one - McCormick - who then was subjected to a battery of tests to ensure his kidney was a match and that he was healthy enough to withstand the procedure.
McCormick laughs now when looking back on the scenario.
"I don't like needles. I don't like doctors. I don't like hospitals," he said. "I was a pretty unlikely candidate to go through something like that."
With all systems go, the procedure was scheduled for March 3, 2016. Two weeks prior to the operation, the Schukraft's phone rang. It was Andrew's doctor calling to inform them that a deceased donor's kidney was available after a 19-year-old male was killed in a car crash on Valentine's Day. Given the deceased donor's age, doctors determined that 19-year-old's kidney would be a better match for Andrew.
McCormick, who for months had prepared himself mentally for the upcoming ordeal, experienced a wide range of feelings.
"When I found out, I was a little disappointed," he said. "It was kind of a strange mix of emotions. But at the same time, the important thing was for Andrew to get healthy. That was what mattered."
So far, Andrew's body has accepted the new kidney quite nicely. He's off dialysis and with a regimen of medication, a modified diet and lots and lots of water to keep his new organ hydrated, Andrew's new kidney could last 20 years or more, his doctors say. He has since become an advocate and spokesperson for organ donation.
The identify of the deceased donor and his family is kept anonymous by the Gift of Life donor programs. That didn't stop Andrew, who will graduate from high school in the spring, from penning a thank-you letter that the organ-procurement group passed along to the donor's parents.
The Schukrafts are equally grateful to McCormick, who, along with the other potential donors, was welcome at any time to change his mind with no ill will.
"We were humbled that someone was willing to do that for us," Heidi said. "At the same time, we knew that at any time if they decided it was not right for them, they should not be afraid to say that. It's scary."
Instead, McCormick was unwavering in his commitment to helping Andrew. He was approved by doctors one day after another potential donor was rejected.
"At first, you don't know if you're going to be a blood match. Then, they identify about three possible donors. Then they get down to one," McCormick said. "It's a bit of a gut-check moment when you find out you're the one, and that it's going to happen."
He provided relief and hope, because we knew he was there. As long as we had hope, we were able to function. He was our hope. He was our guy."
To this day McCormick's approach to his role is beyond humble. Since he never went under the knife, he believes he really didn't do anything to help the boy, his parents and his sister, Alaina, who will graduate in May from Elon University in North Carolina.
"I still don't feel like I did anything," he said. "In fact, I didn't do anything."
That thinking, say the Schukrafts, is absurd. Just knowing they had a willing donor helped them get through some difficult times and gave them one more thing to be grateful for that Christmas.
"We got through Christmas because he decided to go through that testing, and that takes weeks," Heidi said.
"He provided relief and hope, because we knew he was there. As long as we had hope, we were able to function. He was our hope. He was our guy."