Life-Changing Gift
After beginning his search for a potential donor early in 2020, Butler Township resident Adam Fair is recovering well following his successful kidney transplant.
Fair has a condition called Alport syndrome. According to the National Institutes of Health, Alport syndrome is a genetic condition characterized by kidney disease, hearing loss and eye abnormalities.
Fair began experiencing major kidney issues in October 2019. A month later, he learned that he would need a kidney transplant.
Fair and his family reached out to the community for potential donors, and created a Facebook and GoFundMe page called “Help Adam Get a Kidney.” This year,
Fair received a kidney from his brother-in-law, Ian Volek, who lives in New York City, on May 4. Both Volek and Fair recovered well.“I just provided info,” said Paige Volek, Fair's wife. “Ian reached out to me and said he wanted to get tested, and when they said he was a match, he didn't hesitate: He went forward with it.”Volek said the kidney is working well for Fair and that he started feeling better right away.“Within a few days, all the extra fluid that his body was retaining came off him,” she said. “When your kidneys don't work, your body is retaining fluid: He always had swelling around his ankles and knees.“He said it was easier to walk and go up and down stairs after getting his new kidney, and that he had more energy,” Volek said.The surgery had been delayed previously. It was supposed to take place in October 2020, but Fair contracted an infection in which his dialysis tube entered his stomach, and had to be on antibiotics for four months before he could get back in the surgery queue. Eventually, he was able to get an open surgery slot, and received the kidney at Pittsburgh Allegheny General Hospital.
Volek said over the course of Fair's journey to find a donor match, “lots of people entered their information to see if they could go through the process.“Around five or 10 people came forward and told me that they had input their information,” she said. “Lots of people did different fundraisers for us, and we were really thankful for that — even though we had insurance, we also had to pick up Medicare for Adam, and our prescription costs were around $300 to $400 a month. All the fundraisers were really helpful.”Along with a GoFundMe page, the family raised money through a hoagie sale and also sold tickets to a spaghetti dinner that had to be postponed because of COVID-19. In total, they raised more than $10,000. The money went toward copays, Fair's deductibles, Medicare bills, prescriptions and the weeks Adam was off work.
Fair, who works as an assistant grocery manager at Giant Eagle, was able to go back to work last week. He still has a lifting restriction, which has been difficult to some extent, because he can't pick up his toddler son, Elliott.“Being the only one able to lift our son for months at a time was a little difficult, and when you have a rambunctious toddler, I was trying to keep him away from his dad, so that he doesn't harm the incision or stuff like that,” Volek said.At the same time, being home from work has given Fair the chance to spend more time with Elliott.Fair will be under a lifting restriction for a few more weeks, and still has to make regular doctor visits and get blood work done. In the meantime, Volek looks forward to being able to do activities as a family again.“We're looking forward to him getting the clearance to swim and go in the water again,” Volek said. “I've always loved the beach, and our son likes to swim too. We couldn't really vacation at all because he was doing dialysis three to four times a week, so I'm looking forward to not being tied to only a couple days' vacation.”
