Former Dallas Cowboy Running Back Ron Springs Recovering from Kidney Transplant
Cowboy Teammate Everson Walls Donated the Kidney
Springs, 50, has suffered from diabetes for 16 years, and has been on the national waiting list for kidneys since 2004. His diabetes had led to the amputation of his right foot and two toes on his left foot. In addition, the disease had caused his hands to curl into knots, and the former athlete had been forced to use a wheelchair.
Should all go well with the transplant, and the body accept the new organ, Springs will no longer need dialysis and their hands should regain their pre-disease form. He should also be able to walk on his own.
During Walls' first training camp with the Cowboys, he and Springs became friends. Their friendship was close, although the two only played together for four years. After things fell through with two of Springs' relatives, Walls decided to volunteer one of his kidneys.
"I said, 'Well, look, I know my blood type is the same as his. Why not give it a shot and see what happens?'" Walls told the Associated Press in December.
A news conference was being planned for Friday to give updates on the transplant and on Springs' condition.
The two former teammates had initially intended to keep the transplant out of the press, but the story leaked out in December via Springs' oldest song, Shawn, who plays cornerback in the NFL for the Washington Redskins.
Walls and Springs were teammates with the Cowboys from 1981-1984. Springs retired in 1986, having spent his last two years in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Walls eventually spent five more seasons with the Cowboys, before ending his career with first the New York Giants and the Cleveland Browns.
Officials believe this transplant was the first time former professional sports teammates have shared an organ. In fact, the only other documented cases involving pro athletes as doners stem from 1997, when basketball great Oscar Robertson donated a kidney to his daughter, and 2002, when Utah Jazz center Greg Ostertag gave a kidney to his sister. NBA stars Alonzo Mourning and Sean Elliot are two of the more high profile stars to have received transplants during their playing days.
Sources:
www.foxreno.com/sports/11146247/detail.html
sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story
Published by Eric Fleming - Featured Contributor in Technology
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