Grandson who saved life of grandmother found dead
Anne Warfield
Whoops!
Grandson who saved life of grandmother found dead
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ROSSVILLE - Daniel Huffman's life was turned into a
made-for-television movie because when he was in high school, the
football player donated his kidney to his grandmother, saving her life
and forever confining him to the sidelines.
Now his grandmother has lost her hero.
Huffman, 25, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head Monday at
his home in Normal. His family members and friends are questioning why
the guy who was known to be happy and courageous is gone.
The McLean County coroner's office said there was no sign of foul play
in his death, and an inquest will be held later. Huffman's friends are
struggling with the possibility that he might have taken his own life.
"There is no answer," Shaun York, who discovered his best friend in a
garage, told the Chicago Tribune for a story in today's editions. "No
one knows why. No one. I've racked my brain ever since. I'm his best
friend, just loved him to death and I just don't know."
Huffman, an outgoing defensive tackle on Rossville's high school
football team, decided to put away his football gear in 1996 for his
grandmother, Shirlee Allison, whose diabetes left her seriously ill
and in need of a kidney transplant.
She could have waited for a transplant, but Huffman, then 17, did some
research and pressed doctors to allow him to be her donor. He loved
football, but the sacrifice meant he could no longer play contact
sports.
The summer before his senior year Huffman had the surgery, and word
spread about the boy from the small town of Rossville, which is about
40 miles east of Champaign.
Sports Illustrated did a story on him. He was honored with a Disney
Wide World of Sports Spirit Award, and Florida State University
football coach Bobby Bowden gave him a scholarship even though Huffman
couldn't play football again. There was also the television movie,
"Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story" that starred Elden Henson as
Daniel and Debbie Reynolds as his grandmother.
Huffman didn't think of his donation as an act of heroism.
"If you love someone and you can help them, any way you can, you're
going to do it," he told The Associated Press in 1999.
Huffman spent three years at Florida State, working as an athletic
trainer and later in the sports information office. He moved back to
Illinois in 2000 after his grandfather died, and he helped care for
his grandmother.
Huffman began working in various security jobs, but every weekend he
would visit Allison, take her shopping and wash her laundry. He
recently talked of completing his college degree, and dreamed of
teaching college English.
"I have a lot of good memories of my grandson," Allison said. "He was
always so happy, so fun. He put a lot of joy into everyone's life. He
was always doing things for you, making you feel so special."
http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/42395.asp
--
Anne Warfield
indigoace at goodsol period com
http://www.goodsol.com/cats/
Anne Warfield
A grandmother loses her hero
The death of a young man stuns loved ones, including the woman whose
life he had saved
By Bill Glauber
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 12, 2004
ROSSVILLE -- Shirlee Allison was surrounded by her grandson's memory.
It was in the photo collections that lay by her floral couch, a life
in full--from a bubbly boy with curly blond locks to a heavy-set young
man with a buzz cut and a smile, holding his 3-year-old nephew in his
big soft hands.
It was in the Christmas decorations that adorned the living room, the
lit garlands he tacked to door and window frames and the angel he
placed atop the tree last Sunday.
And a piece of her grandson was deep inside her, the kidney he donated
to her when he was back in high school, giving up senior year football
in 1996 to save the life of his cherished "Gran."
"I'll never get over this," Shirlee Allison said. "Neither will anyone
in this family. Every weekend, I'll keep expecting him to walk through
that door."
Allison is mourning the death of her grandson, Daniel Huffman, 25,
whose selfless act of kidney donation drew him national attention.
Monday, Huffman was found dead of a gunshot wound at his residence in
Normal.
The McLean County coroner's office said there was no sign of foul
play. An inquest will be held at a later date.
Huffman's death has staggered a family and a community, bringing an
end to a life that was once turned into a made-for-television movie.
People who knew and loved him are trying to come to grips with a life
lived joyously and courageously and the cruel mystery of his death.
Friends are struggling with the possibility that Huffman might have
taken his life.
"There is no answer," Shaun York, 26, who discovered the body of his
best friend in a garage. "No one knows why. No one. I've racked my
brain ever since. I'm his best friend, loved him to death and I just
don't know."
Huffman was once showered with accolades by a sporting community
unaccustomed to the grace and courage from one so young. Sports
Illustrated wrote of his tale: He was honored with a Disney Wide World
of Sports Spirit Award at a college football awards show, and Florida
State University Coach Bobby Bowden got him a scholarship even though
he could never play football again.
There was even a made-for-television movie, "Gift of Love: The Daniel
Huffman Story," starring Elden Henson as Daniel and Debbie Reynolds as
his grandmother.
The movie was a tribute to the love between a grandmother and a
grandson.
"I have a lot of good memories of my grandson," Allison said. "He was
always so happy, so fun. He put a lot of joy into everyone's life. He
was always doing things for you, making you feel so special."
Huffman's legacy is his grandmother. She is 69 and frail with wisps of
light blond and gray hair, a soft voice and shining blue eyes.
Friday, hours before a visitation for her grandson, Allison sat in her
favorite living room chair opposite a television set. There was a
walker off to the side and vials of medicine on a table near an empty
bottle of Diet Coke.
Saving grandmother's life
She held tight to the past, recalling how she and her late husband
raised Huffman and his younger sister Kristi, who moved as teens from
Florida to small-town Illinois a few years after the end of their
parents' marriage.
When Huffman was 17, his grandmother was seriously ill. She had
diabetes, her kidneys were failing and three-times-a-week dialysis
treatment kept her alive.
The grandmother would wait for a donated kidney.
But the grandson, a high school honor student, talked with doctors and
nurses, did some research and pressed to donate a kidney even though
he knew he could no longer play contact sports. A defensive tackle,
Huffman loved high school football.
In the summer of 1996, between his junior and senior years, the
procedure took place.
"The night before we had surgery, I talked to him and told him, `It's
not too late to back out now,'" Allison said.
But the grandson didn't.
Allison awoke from surgery immediately refreshed, she recalled. Her
grandson endured days of pain and a slow recovery.
That year, his senior season, he was confined to the sidelines. But on
the last play of the last game, he came in for a symbolic down, lining
up 20 yards behind the snap. After the final whistle, he raised his
arms in a V.
Huffman's high school years can be seen in Myron Ward's classroom at
Rossville-Alvin High School. Ward has taught history, driver's
education and physical education and doubled as a school photographer.
His class is adorned with photos of the kids, including one blown-up
shot of Huffman with friends, smiling in delight at a high school
bonfire.
"Happy, cheerful, volunteered his time," Ward said of Huffman. "No one
is truly selfless, but he was very close."
The story of Huffman's organ donation began to echo far beyond the
little town of 1,400 residents, 118 miles south of Chicago.
There was, for a brief time, a very happy ending. Huffman received the
Spirit award at a televised ceremony in which Coach Bowden was also
honored. Bowden heard of Huffman's story, his love of Florida State,
and arranged for a scholarship.
Huffman spent three years at Florida State, working as an athletic
trainer and later in the sports information office.
The made-for-television movie received its premiere on campus in
Tallahassee in 1999.
"It's almost surreal to think about it," Huffman said during a 1999
news conference. "Small-town boy growing up in a little one-horse town
in Illinois ... Then to actually come down here and be a part of this
program. It's one off those unbelievable stories."
Huffman left Florida State in 2000 after the death of his grandfather.
"To be honest, Daniel was homesick,"' said his mother, Alice Kelly,
54, of Jacksonville, Fla. "He was ready to take a break from school."
And his grandmother needed him.
Almost every weekend, Huffman would make sure to visit his
grandmother, take her shopping, wash her laundry.
He worked several security jobs and most recently was named a
supervisor at Illinois Security Services in Normal, his family said.
Ralph Kirkpatrick, a regional supervisor for Illinois Security
services, said Huffman had a 9 mm handgun for the job.
"This absolutely has devastated everybody," Kirkpatrick said. "Nobody
saw this coming. There were no indications. No mood swings. No temper
tantrums."
"He was just a big old teddy bear," Kirkpatrick said.
Eight months ago, he began to see a steady girlfriend.
Those who know him said he seemed happy. He worked hard and was often
on call during weekends.
He talked of returning to college and earning a business degree. He
yearned to teach college English, his family said.
His grandmother said the last time she saw him, he was at her house,
stringing up the Christmas decorations, playing with a niece and
singing a silly Christmas song.
He spent the night with his girlfriend and returned early morning
Monday to the duplex he shared in Normal with York and another
roommate.
York, who had known Huffman since grade school, said they had a quick
conversation about a job that York was starting that day.
"Good luck," Huffman said, his friend recalled.
"See you tonight," York replied.
York came home before 6 p.m. and saw Huffman's old black Taurus parked
in front of the duplex. He didn't think much of it since Huffman's
cars were always breaking down. But after he heard a voice message
from Huffman's employer asking where he was, York became concerned. He
called Huffman's girlfriend, then began to search.
After York found the body, he called the police.
`It doesn't matter why'
Now, the grandmother is left with memories of the grandson, the boy
who gave her life.
"He did not want to let anybody down," she said. "That wasn't learned
behavior. That was a gift."
And the family is left to wonder why a loved one's life ended so soon.
"It's out of my hands now," said Huffman's mother, sitting on a couch
across from Allison. "It's a great loss. Maybe someday we'll know. The
void is there. The loss is there. It doesn't matter why."
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/chi-0412120213dec12,1,6727155.story
tinydancer
"Anne Warfield" <indi...@aolxxx.com> wrote in message
news:41bf5c74...@news.prodigy.net...
> Jeepers. I just accidentally posted this in alt.tv.amazing-race.
> Whoops!
>
> Grandson who saved life of grandmother found dead
I saw this in the news yesterday, so sad for the parents and family.
td
MaryL
own life, as it appears).
MaryL
"tinydancer" <tinyd...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:QXZud.88020$Ch2....@bignews5.bellsouth.net...
Bradley K. Sherman
Anne Warfield <indi...@aolxxx.com> wrote:
>From the Chicago Tribune--
>
>And a piece of her grandson was deep inside her, the kidney he donated
>to her when he was back in high school, giving up senior year football
>in 1996 to save the life of his cherished "Gran."
>
>"I'll never get over this," Shirlee Allison said. "Neither will anyone
>in this family. Every weekend, I'll keep expecting him to walk through
>that door."
She should never have accepted the kidney. From her grandson?
Condemning him to an entire life to sub-standard health? Selfish
old bag.
--bks
Michael Snyder
> Whoops!
You can cancel it, you know...
> Grandson who saved life of grandmother found dead
Freddie Prinze. Sudden fame, followed by disillusion.
The roller coaster effect.
PattyC
"Bradley K. Sherman" <b...@panix.com> wrote in message
news:cphve6$t0o$1...@panix2.panix.com...
Having one kidney does not mean "sub-standard health!" It means you have
one kidney. It only gets hairy if the one kidney goes bad, which is rare.
The odds were in his favor and he did a loving thing.
How odd of you to object to something (living donors) that is generally
encouraged in order to assist with the shortage of organs for
transplantation.
Note to Bradley, he killed himself, he did not die of kidney failure. In
fact, I am hopeful that under the unfortunate circumstances, another person
with ESRD got a kidney for transplantation.
PattyC <--- approaching 'old bag' stage of life myself...
Uncle Dollar Bill
<msn...@redhat.com> wrote:
>
>"Anne Warfield" <indi...@aolxxx.com> wrote in message
>news:41bf5c74...@news.prodigy.net...
>> Jeepers. I just accidentally posted this in alt.tv.amazing-race.
>> Whoops!
>
>You can cancel it, you know...
I don't believe cancels work so well any more. Any time I've ever
tried in the past 5 or so years, it's always failed. Not as many
servers are acknowledging them.
Uncle Dollar Bill
wrote:
>Grandson who saved life of grandmother found dead
<snip>
This is one of those that surprises me. Sometimes, you can have the
individuals own bloody fingerprints all over the gun, years and years
of depression and suicidal thoughts, irrational behavior, all the
"indicators" like them giving away all their possessions and cutting
off all friendships, and the family _still_ won't believe it's
suicide. But in a case like this where there is none of that (except
perhaps his fingerprints on the gun?), this family seems perfectly
willing to accept that it was suicide. It probably was, but I can't
help but to think that I would have to be a little more questioning.
This is no criticism of his family, I give them nothing but
condolences. It's just... Well, in a situation where suicide makes
even less sense than usual, their ready acceptance of it combined with
the fact that none of them can think of a single thing that might have
precipitated it - this just has me puzzled. Maybe it's just me? :-?
cro...@earthlink.net
opinions/feelings with the public...
"Uncle Dollar Bill" <UncleDo...@SpamMeNot.com> wrote in message
news:3hbpr09961euqtbu8...@4ax.com...
Uncle Dollar Bill
That's true. It does say there was "no sign of foul play" - it's hard
to tell how closely they looked. But I don't think I could be
satisfied in a case like this with anything less than a full
investigation. I've read of coronor's offices and such being
resistant towards investigating an apparent suicide as possible murder
as long as nothing on a surface, cursory look indicates foul play. In
a case like this, though, where the act of suicide seems so completely
inconsistent with his demeanor and his life at the time, I think
something deeper than a "surface scan" is warranted. That may be what
they did, I don't know, and if it is then there's nothing more to say.
But if it isn't, I would have no choice but to seek such a thing were
I in his family's situation.
nimue
Huh? I thought your health could be just fine with only one kidney, as long
as that kidney worked the way it should. You're a disgusting asshole, btw.
>
> --bks
--
nimue
"If I had created reality television I would have had a much greater
influence, but then I would have had to KILL MYSELF." Joss Whedon
"Education is freedom. It is the answer."
Michael Snyder
"Uncle Dollar Bill" <UncleDo...@SpamMeNot.com> wrote in message
Yeah, I know, but at least it works on the servers that do...
Michael Snyder
"nimue" <cup_o...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:xP2vd.25170$ld2.11...@twister.nyc.rr.com...
> Bradley K. Sherman wrote:
> > In article <41c05e4f...@news.prodigy.net>,
> > Anne Warfield <indi...@aolxxx.com> wrote:
> >> From the Chicago Tribune--
> >>
> >> And a piece of her grandson was deep inside her, the kidney he
> >> donated to her when he was back in high school, giving up senior
> >> year football in 1996 to save the life of his cherished "Gran."
> >>
> >> "I'll never get over this," Shirlee Allison said. "Neither will
> >> anyone in this family. Every weekend, I'll keep expecting him to
> >> walk through that door."
> >
> > She should never have accepted the kidney. From her grandson?
> > Condemning him to an entire life to sub-standard health? Selfish
> > old bag.
>
> Huh? I thought your health could be just fine with only one kidney, as
long
> as that kidney worked the way it should. You're a disgusting asshole,
btw.
Well, "just fine" in the sense of "good enough to live", but obviously
not "just fine" in the sense of "still able to play football". Somewhere
in between those two. If there's one limitation, there are probably more.
Like for instance on what you can eat and drink...
flick
> Huh? I thought your health could be just fine with only one kidney, as long
> as that kidney worked the way it should. You're a disgusting asshole, btw.
The remaining kidney expands to handle what 2 used to
handle, and it works out just fine.
The problem re football is because it's a heavy contact
sport. If you happened to get whammed hard enough to
damage a kidney, you could damage your *only* kidney.
Here's online info:
http://www.kidney.org/recips/livingdonors/infoQA.cfm?id=6#6b
flick 100785
>
>
>> --bks
>
>
OzzieAnnie
things just work out so crappy.
OA, depressed (but not criticizing the messenger, AW)
"Anne Warfield" <indi...@aolxxx.com> wrote in message
news:41c05e4f...@news.prodigy.net...
Bradley K. Sherman
flick <fl...@starband.net> wrote:
>nimue wrote:
>
>> Huh? I thought your health could be just fine with only one kidney, as long
>> as that kidney worked the way it should. You're a disgusting asshole, btw.
>
>The remaining kidney expands to handle what 2 used to
>handle, and it works out just fine.
Who would have thought there were so many Pollyannas in
alt.true-crime? There are lots of potential health effects
of donating a kidney. In this case, the poor guy had to
give up football, which was apparently a big part of his
life.
| The Dark Side Of Organ Donation
| WASHINGTON, August 12, 2003
|
| The transplant was drawing near, and Kimberly Tracy knew she
| might die. She sat down to write her 2-year-old nephew a letter.
|
| "I'm writing this letter to you now in case I can't tell you
| later," Tracy typed on her computer as she prepared to give him
| one of her kidneys. "Maybe something went wrong during the
| transplant or I became ill afterward. ... All I know is that I
| wanted to tell you how much I love you."
|
| She slipped the pages inside the folder with her will and her
| life insurance documents. Soon after, her healthy kidney was
| transplanted into her nephew's tiny, sick body.
|
| Tracy, a 45-year-old nurse from Dayton, Ohio, survived, as did
| her nephew. But it was hardly the no-big-deal operation her
| doctors had promised. For months afterward, Tracy would vomit
| for no clear reason. She had abdominal cramps and shooting
| pelvic pain.
|
| Yet complications like Tracy's are seldom reported or talked
| about, even as the number of living donors soars. Increasingly,
| patients desperate for transplants are turning to families,
| friends, even acquaintances or co-workers for vitally needed
| organs.
| ...
<http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/12/health/printable567903.shtml>
It's one thing to give up an organ for a sibling, or a child, but
for your grandmonther? Please. I would never ask my children,
let alone my grandchildren, to make such a sacrifice.
If it's not big deal why not just buy one on the Indian open
market? I have read that you can get one for about $1k.
--bks
MaryL
So now you think it's alright to buy one from a complete stranger (someone
who is probably living in true poverty), but not from a close relative who
would donate out of love?? I do have reservations about accepting a
donation from someone so young because it can have a major impact on their
lives, but I am also very ambivilent about it. I certainly think it is
preferable to have the donation while the recipient is still healthy enough
to have a good chance of survival, and I know I dearly loved my
grandparents. Your attitude seems to assume that there is not a close
relationship except among siblings.
MaryL
Bradley K. Sherman
MaryL <carst...@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote:
>
>So now you think it's alright to buy one from a complete stranger (someone
>who is probably living in true poverty), but not from a close relative who
>would donate out of love?? I do have reservations about accepting a
>donation from someone so young because it can have a major impact on their
>lives, but I am also very ambivilent about it. I certainly think it is
>preferable to have the donation while the recipient is still healthy enough
>to have a good chance of survival, and I know I dearly loved my
>grandparents. Your attitude seems to assume that there is not a close
>relationship except among siblings.
It's not a matter of a close relationship, but rather that risking
the life of a child to extend the life of a senior citizen is
revolting. It is possible that the grandmother was only in
her forties, but it's still highly unethical --in my system
of ethics. Your ethics may vary.
Also I was using the example of buying a kidney in India to
emphasize that donating a kidney is not the same as, say,
donating your hair. I find the practice of organ sales to
also be highly unethical.
--bks
Karen E.
> In article <516vd.145$NQ2...@fe25.usenetserver.com>,
> flick <fl...@starband.net> wrote:
>
>>nimue wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Huh? I thought your health could be just fine with only one kidney, as long
>>>as that kidney worked the way it should. You're a disgusting asshole, btw.
>>
>>The remaining kidney expands to handle what 2 used to
>>handle, and it works out just fine.
>
>
> Who would have thought there were so many Pollyannas in
> alt.true-crime? There are lots of potential health effects
> of donating a kidney. In this case, the poor guy had to
> give up football, which was apparently a big part of his
> life.
You talk about this as though she begged him to do it. He _offered_.
That gave her two choices: Take him up on it or spit on the gift he
willingly offered out of his love for her. Oh, I'm sure _that_ would
have made him feel just peachy. "No, Dearie. You go on and play your
football and Grandma will just curl up in this corner and die."
> It's one thing to give up an organ for a sibling, or a child, but
> for your grandmonther? Please. I would never ask my children,
> let alone my grandchildren, to make such a sacrifice.
And from all the reports, she _didn't_ ask him. In fact, the article
specifically mentioned that she told him the morning of the operation
that he could still change his mind and back out.
Karen E.
--
There are only 10 kinds of people in the world:
Those who understand binary and those who don't.
Bradley K. Sherman
Karen E. <fishn...@kcnet.com> wrote:
>
>You talk about this as though she begged him to do it. He _offered_.
>That gave her two choices: Take him up on it or spit on the gift he
>willingly offered out of his love for her. Oh, I'm sure _that_ would
>have made him feel just peachy. "No, Dearie. You go on and play your
>football and Grandma will just curl up in this corner and die."
>
Yup, that's what she should have said. Sorry if that offends you.
--bks
Karen E.
It doesn't offend me but I get the impression it sure as hell would have
offended him.
Bradley K. Sherman
Karen E. <fishn...@kcnet.com> wrote:
>Bradley K. Sherman wrote:
>> In article <41BD18C1...@kcnet.com>,
>> Karen E. <fishn...@kcnet.com> wrote:
>>
>>>You talk about this as though she begged him to do it. He _offered_.
>>>That gave her two choices: Take him up on it or spit on the gift he
>>>willingly offered out of his love for her. Oh, I'm sure _that_ would
>>>have made him feel just peachy. "No, Dearie. You go on and play your
>>>football and Grandma will just curl up in this corner and die."
>>
>> Yup, that's what she should have said. Sorry if that offends you.
>
>It doesn't offend me but I get the impression it sure as hell would have
>offended him.
>
Sometimes you have to show the wisdom of your years, even if
the pride of the child is hurt. The doctors should have discouraged
the operation as well.
Does anyone really question that allowing him to make this sacrifice
and the attendant publicity put him on the path to his eventual suicide?
--bks
Karen E.
> In article <41BD1D74...@kcnet.com>,
> Karen E. <fishn...@kcnet.com> wrote:
>
>>Bradley K. Sherman wrote:
>>
>>>In article <41BD18C1...@kcnet.com>,
>>>Karen E. <fishn...@kcnet.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>You talk about this as though she begged him to do it. He _offered_.
>>>>That gave her two choices: Take him up on it or spit on the gift he
>>>>willingly offered out of his love for her. Oh, I'm sure _that_ would
>>>>have made him feel just peachy. "No, Dearie. You go on and play your
>>>>football and Grandma will just curl up in this corner and die."
>>>
>>>Yup, that's what she should have said. Sorry if that offends you.
>>
>>It doesn't offend me but I get the impression it sure as hell would have
>>offended him.
>>
>
>
> Sometimes you have to show the wisdom of your years, even if
> the pride of the child is hurt. The doctors should have discouraged
> the operation as well.
Perhaps they did. I'm not that familiar with the story. Regardless, he
investigated the possibility of donation on his own. And this was not
simply his grandmother. The article pointed out that he'd been living
with his grandparents for some time. That can (and, from everything
we've heard in this situation, did) make for a much closer relationship.
> Does anyone really question that allowing him to make this sacrifice
> and the attendant publicity put him on the path to his eventual suicide?
For now, sure. I'll question it. Assuming it was suicide, there could
have been any number of things that led to it. There's nothing that
we've heard so far to indicate that the organ donation had anything to
do with it.
It's sad, no matter why or how it happened.
Iris McAlias
Do you think that this particular young man would have coped with watching
Grandma die knowing that his kidney would have saved her if she hadn't
refused it? If what you suggest is true and it's the inability to play
football combined with the publicity his actions gathered *eight years ago*
that led to his suicide, then I suggest that such a personality would not
have coped with his Grandmother's death in these circumstances. I think this
guy was destined to kill himself no matter who took which vital organ from
whom.
CC Bailey
> In article <516vd.145$NQ2...@fe25.usenetserver.com>,
> flick <fl...@starband.net> wrote:
>
>>nimue wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Huh? I thought your health could be just fine with only one kidney, as long
>>>as that kidney worked the way it should. You're a disgusting asshole, btw.
>>
>>The remaining kidney expands to handle what 2 used to
>>handle, and it works out just fine.
>
>
> Who would have thought there were so many Pollyannas in
> alt.true-crime? There are lots of potential health effects
> of donating a kidney. In this case, the poor guy had to
> give up football, which was apparently a big part of his
> life.
Football is a freakin' game! If anyone puts football over a life, they
should be pitied.
Bradley K. Sherman
The point is that there are health consequences to donating a kidney.
--bks
Pierre-Normand Houle
"Bradley K. Sherman" <b...@panix.com> wrote in message news:cpl2d6$lfh$1...@panix3.panix.com...
> >Football is a freakin' game! If anyone puts football over a life, they
> >should be pitied.
>
> The point is that there are health consequences to donating a kidney.
There also are health consequences to playing football : concussions,
spine injuries, ruined knees, Achilles tendon rupture, and so on...