Narrator: Coming up on Mayo Clinic Q&A, a look at the paired
kidney donation program and how it can impact so many lives.
Mike Peshut: It makes such an impact to help somebody else in
the world, besides somebody close, as in the paired match
program.
Narrator: Sometimes a loved one may want to donate a kidney to a
family member or friend, but they can't because they're
incompatible. Through a process called paired exchange, two
transplant candidates can receive organs, and two donors
give organs. This process is also known as a kidney chain.
Mike Peshut: As long as you are living a good life and you're
living a healthy life, you can donate a kidney to help save
someone else's life.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: Welcome, everyone to Mayo Clinic Q&A. I'm
your host, Dr. Halena Gazelka. And do I have a fascinating
story for you today. Mayo Clinic living donor, Mike Peshut, is
one of the 22 kidney donors who will be climbing Mount
Kilimanjaro with a group called Kidney Donor Athletes, or KDA.
Their goal is to reach the summit on March 10, which is
World Kidney Day. Mike donated a kidney on behalf of his wife
Annie in February of 2019, and was part of a multi-individual
donor chain. Here to share his story of kidney donation is Mike
Peshut. Welcome, Mike.
Mike Peshut: Morning, thank you very much for having me today.
It's an honor to be able to share my story and share the
positive effects of giving the gift of life. Thank you.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: Well, I have thoroughly enjoyed researching
for this podcast. And I enjoyed so much reading your story and
about the others who are going on this trip with you, which
we'll get to in a minute. But tell us Mike, what led you to
donate a kidney?
Mike Peshut: Well, I've been with my wife, I'm 60-years-old
this year, and I always remind my wife, I've been with her for
over half her life. She doesn't like that. But that's the way it
is. So, from early onset, she always had some sort of issue
where she was spilling protein into our urine. And probably in
the mid 2000's, they finally diagnosed her with FSGS. And it
probably took about 10 years for her to get to stage five kidney
disease, and she was at a point where she needed a kidney. And,
you know, what does one do? You know, in sickness and health,
you know, that's your commitment. And so, I put my
hand up and I said, Well, I'm in. At the time, I went down to
Mayo and was tested, and I ended up rejected. And I'm like, what
do you mean I'm rejected? It was all about the matching of
the kidney, moreoso than anything.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: You weren't a match for your wife.
Mike Peshut: I wasn't a match. There wasn't a match at all. And
at that point, you know, I was really, you know, just
disappointed. And I thought, well, you know, I'm not the type
of person that's going to be out there with a billboard on his
back saying my wife needs a kidney. You know, that's just
not my personality, and so, I'm thinking what are we going to
do? And I think it was Katie, from Mayo there. She said, Well,
we do have this program called, you know, a paired match. And
I'm like, well what's that about? And I learned quickly
that, you know, I call it as a lay person give a kidney get a
kidney. It's not always guaranteed, you know.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: So, this is where the term chain comes in,
and how does that work ?
Mike Peshut: Well and so, I gave a kidney, and it went to my
recipient Candace down in Georgia. And Wyatt gave a kidney
to Annie, and Wyatt really after just recently, Annie's donor
just recently completed that chain. I think it was like two
and a half years later, there were some complications and
stuff, but he finally, his nephew was the one that he was
going for in the chain. And he finally got a kidney. So,
everybody at the end of the day, gave and received them. And it
was a great experience. And it was a great alternative for
people that, you know, aren't a match to your family.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: And I understand Mike, that this was
kind of a leap of faith for you because you donated the kidney a
couple of years before your wife received a kidney, is that
right?
Mike Peshut: No. Actually, just a week.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: Oh, just a week. Okay.
Mike Peshut: We both went in, you know, to go on the same day,
which you know, in hindsight, so we're getting our pre-surgery
interviews and making sure that we're getting everything down,
ready for the next day, go time as I call it. And I walked into
the room where Annie and her handler, where that was at, and
I could see things weren't going well. I thought uh-oh, something
is not right. And Wyatt had contracted influenza. And so,
they ended up putting it on hold for a week. But in hindsight, in
retrospect, you know, Annie being able to watch me go
through my surgery, meeting all the nurses on the floor, being
able to watch the people through the recovery process and their
steps, you know, first you're on walking on the podium, so then
you're walking down the hall and those types of things, and then
watching me recover, I think, gave her a better understanding
of what to expect. And so, at the end it was a blessing in
disguise even though for Annie it was really a disappointing
moment. But for me, you know, I was like, Hey, I'm ready. It's
go-time. You know, I believe in Mayo, I believe in the process,
and that, you know, just because, you know, we don't have
to do this one for one like we are exchanging, you know, in
that type of an atmosphere. So, it was a great experience.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: Mike, you recently met the woman who
received your kidney. What was that experience like?
Mike Peshut: That was really rewarding. It had been three
years, and you know, at first, you know, I had come home and,
you know, you sign a piece of paper, and you know this, would
you like to share your information, and that goes off
with the kidney when it goes out the door. And, you know, I'm in
the hospital on Tuesday, and I'm home on Thursday, and I haven't
heard anything, you know, that's my personality. And, you know,
and then I ended up getting a text or an email, I can't recall
what it was. And it took almost three years. I just met her
September of 2021. In February of 2019, was my donor date. And
it was really rewarding. I mean, I met her and her husband, and
to find out, you know, you talk about, you know, you're there to
your wife, but at the same time, when you recognize, you know, 13
grandchildren, daughters, sons, and, you know, she said, she
wasn't gonna make it till Christmas. And, you know, that
just, you know, just for a person just blows your mind that
it actually makes such an impact, to help, you know,
somebody else in the world, besides somebody close, you
know, in the paired match program. So, really, we're
connected, you know, we talk all the time and that. And, you
know, we have a mutual respect, and, you know, a very nice
relationship.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: I think, Mike, we all feel satisfied when
we do good things for others, but what a monumental impact to
have on someone's life and quality of life too.
Mike Peshut: You know, you really never, you know, you go
through it, but until you sit there and look across the dinner
table, you know, we went out to a restaurant, and that's when
you recognize, when they are telling their personal story to
you about how that affected their life, and how you can
affect someone's life really, really was rewarding.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: Now, Mike, let's get to the part about you
going to Mount Kilimanjaro. But first, I want to ask now, you
must have been quite athletic before you donated a kidney. And
were you worried about the impact that that would have on
your athletic conditioning?
Mike Peshut: No, I never really was. I mean, I was educated. You
know, at Mayo I went through the process. I think Mayo does a
great job of, you know, helping you understand, you know, from
beginning to end, you know, what this is going to look like. So,
I mean, you know, you might have this in the back your mind. But
,you know, you ask a question you get the answers, and it
gives you the confidence to be able to move forward. But, you
know, I was always very physical and active. And you know, I say
I was out on Tuesday. I operated on Tuesday. I was out
on Thursday. On Saturday I'm at the club walking a mile. Week
four I'm beating all the guys in racquetball, almost pulled a
little bit of a hernia, but that that didn't happen. But week
four, I beat everybody in racquetball. I could see they
were trying to beat me back. But so, yeah.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: Oh, my goodness.
Mike Peshut: The recovery is there. And as long as you're
physically active and you go back after it like anything
else. And it was an easy recovery.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: Wow, that's amazing. Mike, tell us about
Kidney Donor Athletes and how you came to be affiliated with
that organization?
Mike Peshut: Yes. Annie is very involved as a recipient of a
kidney. So, she's often, you know, in the middle of the
winter in Minnesota, she's on the couch with her iPad, you
know, doing her research and through her blogging and talking
to her world that she's involved in, you know, a donor is
different than a recipient, right. As you know, from a, you
know, communication world. But Annie came upon this program,
and she said, Hey Mike, there's people that are looking to go to
Kilimanjaro that are kidney donors. You should apply. You
know, I said, Oh, let me have the link. And before you know
it, you know, I've already sent it in an hour later. And it took
a couple months to be vetted to make sure that, you know, that
you understood what you're going to be involved in, and that you
had some ability to hopefully accomplish the goal, and that,
you know, that you kind of fit the program and that, and that
you understood what, you know, ruggedness will be involved and
those types of things. But, you know, I really came upon it from
Annie's research. And once I got involved, I've been involved in
the advocacy and working with them and just a great
organization, non-profit. And, you know, they're trying to
build awareness and funds to help people that are in need of
kidney transplants.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: And I think it's neat to show that life can
be not only just normal, but really good. You can live a
really good life after donating a kidney.
Mike Peshut: Absolutely Doc. I'm the old guard in the crowd.
I'm the older one probably on this climb. And, you know, these
people are out there, you know, you talk about being active.
Some of them are ultra-runners, they're doing 50 miles in
Colorado over the weekend, 50 Miles running, you know, the
runners and hikers and climbers, and they're doing 10,000 feet up
in Washington State. And you know, there's nothing holding
any of these people back, and I hope to be one of them on March
10.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: So, Mike we all know that Mount Kilimanjaro
is Africa's highest peak. So, I climb the 20 steps in the
buildings here on campus, and I feel like I'm gonna die. But I
make myself do it a couple times a week, sometimes. So, how do
you get in shape for a trip like this?
Mike Peshut: Well, I've always been, you know, I've taught my
children, you know, exercise is a way of life. It's not an
event, It's a culture. So, I've always been, you know, at times,
you know, in Minnesota we end up all of us put our five pounds on
in the winter, or whatever it may be. You know, because we
hunker down a little bit more than we should. But I've always
been active. And so, you know, running has been part of my
lifestyle, you know, for my entire life, and hiking and
walking. So, you know, that was a good start. And, you know, I'm
physically active in all the things that I do. I'm a hunter.
I'm a fisherman, you know, I own some property up in northern
Minnesota that I'm always tinkering on. I'm a DIY guy, do
it yourself projects. So, you know, I feel like I came with a
good base. But they gave us a 16-week program, Embark
Expedition, which is who we're going with as our team that's
gonna help us get up the mountain. And they gave us a
16-week program that if you follow it, I mean, you know, I
think that it's good. It's cardio, it's stretching, it's
yoga, it's strength training, it's hikes. So, like over the
last two weekends I've been out, you know, 30 miles both
weekends, and I've got, you know, the rest of the month I'm
out doing 30 to 35 miles a weekend with a 40-pound pack on.
You know, I'm hoping that for a flatlander that's a Minnesotan,
that's going to get it done, and I'm confident it will.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: Mike, how far is the distance that you'll
be accomplishing and the altitude?
Mike Peshut: Altitude is gonna be 19,500. 19,340 something
like that. And that's big. The most I've done is 14,500. You
know, I've done the Grand Canyon a couple of times, things like
that. But 19,340 I think is the thing. And I think our total
distance in the total trip is about 45 miles, something like
that.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: Wow. How many days does that take?
Mike Peshut: It's an eight-day trek.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: Well, how exciting. We will be sending
our well wishes with you and rooting you on.
Mike Peshut: Yeah, I know, I'm real excited. And you know, I've
had a great support team in helping, you know, fundraise and
advocacy, and those types of things. And again, I'm happy to
be able to provide information to help support Mayo Clinic who
just did a fantastic job for us, for Annie and I through the
process.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: Mike, what message would you like your
story to send to other donors and potential donors?
Mike Peshut: I would say that, you know, don't be afraid.
Don't sit on the sidelines, if you're healthy, you don't have
to be an athlete. You don't have to be going to the top of
Kilimanjaro. But as long as you are, you know, you've lived a
good life and you're living a healthy life, you can donate a
kidney to help save someone else's life. And you will
recover in four to six weeks. You will not skip a beat. You
know, I often say as a little joke in the household I'm
yesterday's news, you know, it's all about the recipient, you
know. And you forget that you were the donor. You know, it's
just one of those things that besides the pride and being
involved in it emotionally, physically you don't even
recognize it's ever been anything that set you back. So,
don't be afraid.
Dr. Halena Gazelka: Well, thank you, Mike for sharing that. Our
thanks to Mayo Clinic kidney donor, Mike Peshut, for being
here today to share his story. I hope that you learned something.
I know that I did. And we wish each of you a wonderful day. And
our best wishes go with Mike on his climb.
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