Vermilion man gets Christmas gift of second chance at life

VERMILION — Across the world people are going to bed tonight and dreaming of the gifts awaiting them tomorrow morning. Except for Mike Calamante. His gift came a few weeks early, but not a second too late. Calamante, 57, knew since last year he needed a new liver. A trip to the emergency room in May 2018 ended with a startling diagnosis: liver failure. "They knew when they looked at me. I walked in looking like Homer Simpson, with red eyes and a yellow body. It was pretty easy to tell," Calamante said. Calamante, who once was a critical care nurse before going into medical sales, had known for some time that something was wrong. But he also was an alcoholic, and didn't want to deal with his body's warnings. "By the time I was referred to a liver specialist, we walked in and he didn't even introduce himself. He said, 'Well, you've got about six months to live,'" he said. "We looked at each other and (my wife) Natalie teared up and I said 'What?'" He stopped drinking that day. He took doctor's advice, taking medications and spending a few visits in the hospital to have fluid drawn from his stomach. It helped to fend off complete liver failure but his numbers continued to get worse until Dec. 4, when he was officially put on the donor list. In many cases, it takes months of testing before recipients are listed on organ donor lists. Several factors are considered, including overall health, chance of survival, and a patient's ability or willingness to comply with post-transplant care, such as taking anti-rejection medications for life. Calamante's case is slightly different than most organ recipients; the liver is the only organ that regenerates itself, and so transplants can come from compatible living donors. To that end, Calamante began posting on Facebook and sending messages to friends and family, asking anyone with a B- or O- blood types to consider donating. And only days after being on the list, he got a call that a compatible liver was available. He went to the Cleveland Clinic to await surgery, only to find it went to another, sicker, recipient. Two days later, he got another call. This time was a hit: Calamante received a new, harvested, liver on Dec. 12. By this past weekend, he was back home to enjoy Christmas. On Saturday, an unexpected knock at the door led to another unexpected blessing: a delivery of food from Operation Christmas Joy, a group of anonymous donors in Vermilion that has delivered food to struggling families and toys to children in need for the past 50 years. "I was in tears. Young guys brought in boxes and bags, a whole counter of soap and a chicken and a full ham, spaghetti makings and potatoes and bread," he said. "We had so much we even made up a box and gave it to a young couple who live by us, to share it. That felt good." "I get a second chance to do it how I should've done it - the right way, the first time," he said. Contact Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @rinijeffers.