[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/11\/clay-omar-story-50ph\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/11\/clay-omar-story-50ph\/","headline":"Ryan Shazier\u2019s 50 Phenoms: From Training to Transplant, Best Friends Build Unbreakable Bond","name":"Ryan Shazier\u2019s 50 Phenoms: From Training to Transplant, Best Friends Build Unbreakable Bond","description":"Clay Moorefield knew his friend needed help. And he believed he was the right person \u2013 maybe the only person \u2013 for the job. With Omar Foster in kidney failure and in desperate need of a transplant, Moorefield went to the man he considers a brother and offered one of his own kidneys. \u201cI didn\u2019t […]","datePublished":"2019-11-07","dateModified":"2023-04-17","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/transplant","name":"Transplant Services","url":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/transplant","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/transplant-services\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/clay-and-omar_2000.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/clay-and-omar_2000.jpg","height":1125,"width":2000},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/11\/clay-omar-story-50ph\/","about":["Health Topics A-Z","Transplant","UPMC Stories"],"wordCount":1925,"keywords":["Ryan Shazier's 50 Phenoms","Ryan Shazier\u2019s 50 Phenoms Season 1"],"articleBody":"Clay Moorefield knew his friend needed help. And he believed he was the right person \u2013 maybe the only person \u2013 for the job.With Omar Foster in kidney failure and in desperate need of a transplant, Moorefield went to the man he considers a brother and offered one of his own kidneys.\u201cI didn\u2019t trust anybody else with giving him a kidney,\u201d says Moorefield, a personal trainer and co-owner of a western Pennsylvania gym. \u201cI know where my body\u2019s been. I know what I put in my body. I know how I get physicals every year \u2026 I know everything\u2019s excellent. It was just numerous factors that all came into play. And the main one was hoping that he can have a quality of life.\u201dThe happy ending didn\u2019t come easily, as Foster originally declined the offer. But Moorefield insisted. He didn\u2019t take no for an answer. And after the March 30, 2018, transplant, Moorefield helped Foster through the process of recovery and building his body back up.The two still work out and spend quality time together, but their relationship is more than friendship. They\u2019re bonded by more than blood.\u201cWe\u2019re just family,\u201d Foster says. \u201cHe\u2019s a part of me, and I\u2019m a part of him. One of his organs is in my body, and I can\u2019t find a word to explain more.\u201d\u2018We Just Became Brothers Almost Instantly\u2019Foster and Moorefield met at a religious service in 2008, and they felt a connection almost immediately.\u201cWe just became brothers almost instantly,\u201d Foster says. \u201cThrough our first gathering and getting together, we started doing things: going out to eat, things like that, hanging, talking all the time on the phone, meeting each other at service every Friday. Our bond just kind of grew from there.\u201dIt grew into a family bond more than a friendship \u2013 Foster\u2019s parents consider Moorefield a son, and Foster\u2019s children call Moorefield an uncle. Eventually, Moorefield became certified as a trainer and opened a gym, and that added another relationship with Foster: workout partners.That\u2019s how Moorefield began noticing his friend\u2019s declining health.\u2018It Didn\u2019t Seem Real to Me\u2019Foster was working as a union painter for his uncle\u2019s company when he cut his finger in 2015 and went to the hospital for stitches. But as part of the physical examination, clinicians discovered what Foster calls a \u201csky-high blood pressure\u201d and diagnosed him with hypertension.More tests revealed that Foster was in kidney failure, with function at around 30 percent. The news surprised Foster, who hadn\u2019t been experiencing symptoms.\u201cI didn\u2019t have a clue,\u201d he says.Foster\u2019s doctors hoped a course of medicine might stabilize his kidneys, keeping him from needing a transplant. But despite various drugs, his kidney function kept declining. When it sank below 20 percent his doctors told him they were going to place him on the transplant list.\u201cIt didn\u2019t seem real to me because I never really felt sick, and I just was in my head, like, \u2018Whatever, I\u2019m fine \u2013 I don\u2019t need a kidney transplant,\u2019\u201d says Foster, who still was working and going to the gym at the time. \u201cI guess it just never really settled in on me.\u201dIt did sink in to his family and friends, especially as Foster began to show symptoms. Overly fatigued, he was napping twice a day for hours at a time. He found himself short of breath. He couldn\u2019t go through his workouts the same. And eventually his kidney function dropped to 12 percent.Foster\u2019s doctors recommended Foster get a fistula \u2013 a connection between an artery and a vein in his arm to provide better blood flow for dialysis. He refused it: \u201cI was in denial,\u201d he says now.Although dialysis is one treatment for kidney failure, transplants are most effective. And because the standard wait time for a kidney transplant can take up to five years, UPMC actively promotes live donations from family members, friends, and even strangers.\u201cIt\u2019s by far a better option for them short term and even long term,\u201d says Amit Tevar, MD, surgical director of UPMC\u2019s Kidney Transplant Program, who treated Clay and Omar. \u201cIt allows them to actually get a transplant without doing the standard of wait time.\u201dMoorefield stepped in for Omar. Knowing his friend needed a transplant, Moorefield researched the risks and benefits of donating. He talked to his family about it and prayed.\u201cOnce I prayed about it, I got an ease about it,\u201d says Moorefield, adding that his brother was willing to donate a kidney to Foster if he couldn\u2019t. \u201cThis is how close he is with my family. It was kind of special. When that happened, in my head, that was a sign that it was meant to be.\u201dAnother sign: Moorefield has blood type O, the universal donor. And he wasn\u2019t about to let Foster talk him out of the procedure.\u201cIt wasn\u2019t that big to me because I just believe that if you love somebody, there\u2019s certain things that need to be done,\u201d Moorefield says. \u201cIt\u2019s almost not an option.\u201dAdds Dr. Tevar: \u201cClay, keep in mind, is really the most altruistic, giving, generous person that anyone would have the pleasure of meeting. And really, he was determined that this was going to happen.\u201d\u2018It Gave Me Strength\u2019The procedure took place March 30, 2018, shortly after Moorefield\u2019s birthday. Moorfield says Foster tried to talk him out of donating up until the day of the procedure.\u201cI was a little nervous, you know,\u201d Foster says. \u201cI started worrying a little bit, just thinking about both of us because I just wanted both of us to be good and come out of there healthy. He was excited, so once I saw that \u2026 I was like, OK, all right, I guess I need to cheer up a little bit.\u201dThe procedure went smoothly for both men, and then the recovery began. Moorefield said he felt little pain from the surgery, although he felt some weakness in his abdominal area. After about six to eight weeks, he began to return to the gym to get his strength back up.Just as he does with his own clients, Moorefield focused on incremental gains.\u201cThe difference was finding where my abilities were once they diminished,\u201d he says. \u201cI really think I\u2019m really an elite level type of fitness person, so actually having to start over, it was kind of difficult. But understanding the whole process, I was like OK, but I had a desire to get back to where I left off at. So that was one of the motivating forces.\u201dAnother motivating force was Foster, whose recovery was slower because of the nature of his procedure. Moorefield wanted to reach his full capacity so he could help Foster through his recovery.\u201cWatching him be able to go to work and be able to do little stuff in the gym and things like that, that was really important,\u201d Foster says. \u201cIt gave me strength, and it also gave me the courage.\u201dBecause Foster had staples in his abdominal area from the procedure, he couldn\u2019t begin working out again until three months post-surgery. Moorefield created a plan for him, and they started working out four to five times a week.\u201cI was just so looking forward to that date, me and him to get back together in the gym and work out,\u201d Foster says.Dr. Tevar dubbed them the \u201cGym Bros.\u201d\u201cThey actually came in with a goal of being the best and quickest to recover,\u201d Dr. Tevar says.The \u201cGym Bros\u201d started slowly in their rehabilitation: calisthenics, push-ups, pull-ups, and dips. But Foster knew he was on the path to recovery simply because he didn\u2019t feel the exhaustion he experienced when he was sick.\u201cTo have that person just going through the recovery with me, it just made me want to be a leading example,\u201d Moorefield says. \u201cThat he can actually see somebody that\u2019s gone through the exact same, the person that actually gave him the kidney going through the same process with him.\u201d\u2018A True Blessing\u2019More than 18 months after the surgery, everything is going well for both Foster and Moorefield. Their biggest initial worry was rejection. There\u2019s been no sign of that.Foster says Moorefield regularly checks in on him to make sure everything is going well, including after doctor appointments. He\u2019s doing everything he can to make sure he stays healthy, including diet and exercise.\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a major blessing, and I definitely don\u2019t want to let myself down, (or) my wife and my children down,\u201d Foster says. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t want to let him down in any way. And I always see his concern.\u201cIt\u2019s been over a year. We haven\u2019t had any problems. I haven\u2019t had to treat the kidney with anything. It\u2019s just been a true blessing.\u201dDr. Tevar holds the \u201cGym Bros\u201d up as a shining example of live donation.\u201cThese two have kind of grown together with this process,\u201d Dr. Tevar says. \u201cAnd really, it was a lot of fun to take care of both of them. But most importantly, I think it was great for them to come in with the idea that they\u2019re going to do well afterwards, very quickly. And they did just that.\u201dIn more ways than one. Foster and Moorefield remain as close as ever, as do their families. And they continue to work out together \u2013 maybe even better than before.\u201cSince the surgery, he actually does a lot better with my style of training,\u201d Moorefield says. \u201cI joke with him a lot. I tell him that, \u2018You\u2019ve got a Ferrari engine inside you now.\u2019\u201dLiving Donor Transplants at UPMCWith hundreds of thousands of people nationwide waiting for a kidney or liver transplant, living donations have become crucial. Living donations can help cut the wait times for people on the transplant list and help reduce organ shortage.The UPMC Liver Transplant Program is one of the oldest and largest in the United States. UPMC ranks first in the country in living-donor liver transplants. UPMC surgeons have performed more than 1,000 living-donor kidney transplants since 1988. The Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation at UPMC Children\u2019s Hospital of Pittsburgh is the oldest pediatric transplant center in the country and has performed the most pediatric transplants.In living kidney donations, surgeons take one of a donor\u2019s two healthy kidneys and transplant it into someone with kidney failure. In living-donor liver transplants, doctors transplant part of a healthy adult\u2019s liver into a recipient with liver failure. The donor\u2019s liver then regenerates within a few months.Living donors can give to friends, family members, or strangers, provided they match for blood and tissue and have a healthy organ.\u201cThe friends that you meet at the gym or at your gin rummy club or at church, these are people that could potentially be a donor,\u201d Dr. Tevar says.Because liver and kidney failure are terminal diseases, living donations save lives.\u201cI\u2019m always touched by the altruism of your neighbors and your friends and your family,\u201d Dr. Tevar says. \u201cI get to see this miracle happen every week, and the first thing that donor asks as soon as they get up out of surgery, as soon as they\u2019re coming out, is, \u2018How did the recipient do?\u2019 And it\u2019s moving to see.\u201d"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2019","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"11","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/\/11\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Ryan Shazier\u2019s 50 Phenoms: From Training to Transplant, Best Friends Build Unbreakable Bond","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/11\/clay-omar-story-50ph\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]