July 10, 2002

More Than a Helping Hand! La Salle University Student-Athlete Donates Kidney to Save Cousin

Some people might call Jackson Oliver a hero. Some people might call him a savior. But the La Salle University senior says he was just doing the right thing when he donated a kidney to save his cousin Austin Sandell. "He really needed it," said Oliver, who lives in Haddon Heights, NJ. "A lot of people made a big deal about it and it made me kind of uncomfortable. I did not want people to start viewing me differently." A finance major, Oliver was a sophomore at La Salle when he learned that his cousin was gravely ill. Although Sandell was born with kidney problems, his condition in 2000 was serious - serious enough to require hours of dialysis every week.

The sons of sisters who grew up a few blocks from each other in Haddon Heights, Oliver and Sandell saw each other frequently and their two families vacationed together at the New Jersey shore every summer.

Jackson grew up watching Sandell cope with his condition, which virtually destroyed his bladder and damaged his kidneys. As he grew older, his condition worsened. His health caused him to drop out of college, and he barely had the energy to walk. "I had to shuffle my feet to keep moving," says Sandell, who is now 29. He had worked as a bartender and had to give that up, too.

As Oliver watched his cousin grow weaker, he thought it over for a while, then decided to have himself tested to see if he and his cousin were compatible for a transplant. Doctors gave Oliver an extensive set of tests, from blood work to a urine sample, to determine if he and Austin were a close enough match.

They were, and Oliver spoke with his cousin.

"Jack came in and told me himself, and I broke down," says Sandell. "I didn't know what to say. It was overwhelming."

But because of problems with his bladder, doctors had to wait until Sandell was ready to deal with the transplant. The operation, originally scheduled for July of 2001, was postponed several times.

"It was kind of a weird time," said Oliver. "The surgery kept on getting moved back. I was always thinking about it." Oliver continued to play football throughout the spring and fall of 2000, playing at linebacker and punter as well as special teams.

In September of 2001, Oliver finally received word of a definite date of the surgery. At that time, his cousin was in dire need of the transplant. He was hunched over in pain, says Oliver. Austin said his dialysis treatments were not effective, and while his physical condition was precarious, the doctors and his family were worried that he was becoming depressed. Then, he was cleared for the procedure, which took place November 27, 2001 at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore.

The night before, Oliver and his entire family drove down to Maryland and stayed at a hotel near the university. Oliver made sure he got plenty of sleep, because he knew he would need a lot of energy for the process.

On the morning of the surgery, Oliver drove with his girlfriend, Nancy Hughes, also a La Salle student, and his mother and father to the operating room.

At 7 a.m., nurses gave Oliver his first IV, and the next thing he knew he was waking up in a recovery room in the middle of the afternoon.

The doctors used a relatively new procedure, a laser-based operation that dramatically reduces recovery time. There were only three small incisions made in Oliver's abdomen.

Nonetheless, when Oliver shook off the final effects of the anesthesia, he says he was in an incredible amount of pain. The nurses had him hooked up to a morphine drip, which Oliver used as much as the machine would allow him.

"The first day felt like it was about a week long," said Oliver.

When he got home from the hospital, he was on prescription pain killers for a several days. For nearly three weeks he was confined to a couch in his living room, unable to lie on his back or his stomach because of the pain. Gradually he began to recover.

By last Christmas, he felt "really good." By the middle of January he considered himself completely recovered.

Amazingly, Oliver did not miss any class time because of the surgery. His La Salle professors allowed him to take final exams for the fall semester a week early, and by the time the spring semester began, he was feeling great.

Although the operation necessitated Oliver giving up football, he is still able to participate in some physical activities. He is still a javelin thrower on the La Salle track team and recently hiked 30 miles of the Appalachian Trail.

Sandell says the difference in his health is "like night and day," since the operation.

Three months after the operation he went snowboarding. Six months after the surgery he went surfing. "I wanted to do something on the anniversary dates," he says. Doctors have told him to take things easy, so he has not returned to work, but he hopes to do that and possibly finish his education. He does ride an exercise bike to build up his strength.

Oliver has heard many compliments from people who have heard his story, but to him, it is no big deal.

"I don't regret at all," he said. "It was something that helped out my cousin and my family. I don't see any difference in myself before the surgery and now."