Alle-Kiski Valley organ recipients count down to Transplant Games in Ohio

Local organ recipients will celebrate milestones as they participate in the Transplant Games of America in Cleveland this weekend.

Kim Krebs of East Deer marked her 54th birthday Wednesday, thanks in large part to people whose families donated kidneys, pancreases, bone marrow and islet cells during three transplants over a 22-year span.

Tom Meshanko of Forest Hills will celebrate a birthday of sorts Monday: the seventh anniversary of his heart transplant.

Wayne Meyers of New Kensington used the visit to Ohio to touch base with the family of Josh, the 23-year-old Cincinnati man whose heart beats in Meyers' chest.

Rudy Molnar of Harrison will seek his second gold medal in ballroom dancing and participate in his fifth Transplant Games after surviving two heart transplants, the first 26 years ago and the second in 2005.

They will join the Transplant Games' Team Pittsburgh contingent of organ recipients and their supporters, donors and donor families, and staff from team sponsor CORE. The O'Hara-based Center for Organ Recovery & Education is the region's federally designated organ procurement organization.

Team Pittsburgh got a boost in numbers after the city hosted the biennial Transplant Games in 2008. The games include a mix of athletics and low-impact events more appropriate for people with compromised health.

Most of the Alle-Kiski Valley group, which also includes John Polczynski of Lower Burrell, will compete in ballroom dancing and bowling. Molnar also will compete in Texas Hold'em poker; Meshanko will try his hand at table tennis.

The games are intended to give people affected by organ donation a chance to bond while promoting the need for organ donors.

During a dress rehearsal Tuesday that gave competitors their last chance to practice the foxtrot before heading to Cleveland on Friday, participants had a variety of reasons for competing.

“Because I can,” said Meyers, who will lead his wife, Mari Jo, through the dance from a wheelchair.

Meyers, whose heart problems began in 1989 with a heart attack, was struggling to breathe during simple tasks before his transplant in 2004.

“When I woke up (from the transplant), I knew I was better,” said Meyers, who waited for a new heart for nearly four years — 1,334 days, to be exact.

Tom Meshanko had a much shorter wait once he was added to the transplant list: two hours.

“I was ready to check out,” he said. “They didn't think I'd make it through the night.”

Meshanko, 74, began having heart problems when he was 46 and went through years of bypass surgeries and pacemakers before an infection spelled the end for the heart he was born with.

Meshanko said he's competing in honor of his donor, who also went by the nickname Tommy.

“We know his donor's family,” said Meshanko's wife, Donna. “They're part of our family. (Tommy's mother) is really special to us.”

Krebs also dedicates her participation to her donor families, only one of which she's met. She said if she wins a medal, she'd like to give it to the mother of her known donor.

“I love to meet the donor families,” said Krebs, who hopes she can help to fill the void for families who haven't been able to meet the recipients of their loved ones' donated organs.

Raising awareness also is important to Krebs, whose mother and sister both died while awaiting organ transplants.

Above all, the participants said they enjoy the camaraderie with people who understand the experience.

Molnar said winning a medal would be a thrill, but it's not his driving force to compete.

“All I'm going for is to have a good time,” Molnar said. “I'm having a good time at life.”

Liz Hayes is a Tribune-Review staff writer. She can be reached at lhayes@tribweb.com or 724-226-4680.