Winter Park Chamber CEO donates kidney

Pieces of a puzzle can fall into place in the strangest yet most wonderful ways – just ask Winter Park Chamber of Commerce CEO/President Patrick Chapin.

The head of the Winter Park Chamber said he sees humanity like a thousand-piece puzzle, all thrown into the air at once before tumbling to the ground. On Jan. 27 Chapin found himself fitting into a role greater than himself, laid out on a hospital gurney waiting to make a very generous donation.

He remembers mixing up his words while his family saw him off.

“I said ‘I’ll see you on the other side…wait that doesn’t sound right,’” Chapin said. “’…of the hospital.’”

Chapin was about to donate his kidney to a man he barely knew, the result of a series of puzzle pieces falling exactly into place.

It all began in January 2014, when Chapin got the news that David Andrews – the husband of Isa Andrews, who was an acquaintance through Leadership Winter Park – had undergone a successful liver transplant. David received the liver from a young man who had passed away in a car accident, made possible by the words “organ donor” stamped on the man’s driver’s license.

David, a former U.S. Marine, was diagnosed years back with Hepatitis C, an infectious disease that threatens the liver.

Chapin hosted David and Isa at the annual Chamber awards banquet in January 2014, using David’s story of perseverance to illustrate how the community and the Chamber watches out for one another.

Chapin had no idea he’d embody that principle just two years later.

David and Isa’s celebration over the liver transplant was short-lived, as they got the news that David required a new kidney in the fall of 2015.

Isa took to Facebook, pouring her heart out through posts and asking for potential donors.

“Her posts are remarkable,” Chapin said. “There’s love and she has a real knack for her writing…it’s so genuine and loving and filled with faith.”

“You can’t help but be moved by it.”

Chapin’s appreciation for David’s military service was the final push he needed to look into testing his eligibility. The findings: Chapin’s kidney would be a perfect match for David.

In early January, Chapin and his wife Michelle sat down with David and Isa at the Benjamin French Bakery Cafe in Thornton Park, telling them that Chapin would volunteer to donate a kidney.

David and Isa said they sat in their car afterwards for what seemed like forever, thanking God in tears for a donor coming forward.

From that point on Chapin’s role seemed easy, he said, noting that it was his family and friends who carried the greater burden of worrying about his safety and supporting him regardless, especially his 9-year-old daughter, Sarah.

“I told Sarah and she took a step back and said ‘Daddy, I’m scared,’” Chapin said. “You could tell she was very scared, but literally 15 seconds later she took a step forward, hugged me, and said ‘It’s OK, because we can help Dave.’”

On Jan. 27, Chapin made good on his promise, going under for three to four hours while his kidney was removed and transferred to David.

Four months later, David and Chapin are both happy and healthy, with similar 3-inch scars across their bellies. Thanks to Chapin stepping forward, David’s wait time for a kidney was only a few months compared to the average wait time of 3.6 years.

“Words can’t describe how grateful [I am] for somebody like Patrick,” David said. “To have your life back…if Patrick hadn’t given me a kidney I’d be on dialysis now.”

Chapin said he hopes to bring about awareness of the importance of donating, adding that a simple trip to the DMV and getting listed as an organ donor can someday make a difference, like how David received his liver.

As of January 2016, 100,791 people in the U.S. were awaiting kidney transplants, according to the National Kidney Foundation. In 2014, 17,107 kidney transplants took place in the U.S. Of those, 11,570 came from deceased donors and 5,537 came from living donors – and of those 1,278 were from nonfamily members.

“My goal now is to share the story,” Chapin said. “…We can share how important it is to sign up as an organ donor.”

“We can impact one more person and educate one more person….”

Chapin said he realizes that the pieces of the puzzle, though impossible to see now, are still falling into place.

“It takes guts to do what [Chapin] did,” David said.

“Well, maybe just a kidney,” Chapin said.