(WINSTON-SALEM, NC) - For any ballplayer in any sport, coaches represent some of the most influential role models. Some even transcend that label and become heroes to those they coach.
Tom Walter is one of those special coaches.
Walter, the head baseball coach at Wake Forest University, took the helm in Winston-Salem in 2009. He made a commitment to help build a championship team.
In 2010, Walter’s diligence led him to become an expert on synthetic turf, and he chose AstroTurf® as the surface that would help take his team to the next level.
Right around the time the new AstroTurf® field was being installed, Walter displayed that same diligence in making a life-changing decision in order to help save a life.
Kevin Jordan, a highly-touted outfielder from Columbus, Georgia, was one of the first players Walter recruited when he came to Wake Forest.
During the winter of senior year in high school, Jordan still battled the lingering effects of the flu. He lost over 20 pounds.
After visiting doctors at Emory University, Jordan learned that his kidney was functioning at only 15-20% of capacity. He was still drafted by the New York Yankees, but by the time he entered Wake Forest, he was undergoing dialysis treatments three days a week.
A Wake Forest physician found that Kevin’s kidney function had dropped to 8%, and with the help of the training staff at Wake Forest, he was taught to self-administer the dialysis treatments.
Kevin was eventually diagnosed with ANCA Vasculitis, a type of autoimmune swelling caused by autoantibodies.
Doctors informed Kevin that a kidney transplant would be the next step, but none of his family members matched.
Coach Walter had taken time to learn about the disease and offered to undergo compatibility testing in December. On January 28, which was the first day of spring baseball practice, Coach Walter got the call that he was a match.
So, on Monday, January 7, when most people were reliving the Super Bowl and talking about the commercials, Tom Walter was donating a kidney in Atlanta to help save Kevin Jordan.
"First and foremost, Kevin even showing up on our campus I thought was a courageous act on his part, certainly far more courageous than anything I'm doing," said Walter "For him to be a freshman in college, not knowing anybody on campus, and having to be in a room on dialysis, I think just took an incredible . . . the word I keep coming back to is courage. When we recruit our guys, we talk about family and we talk about making sacrifices for one another, for our teammates. So, it's something we take very seriously. And I think this is something anybody would do for a family member. So long as I had the support of my family, which I have had great support from them, the support of (athletic director) Ron Wellman and Wake Forest University. And they have been nothing but great. Ron was very receptive to this. And my team. Those were the three factors. Once I had the support of my family, Wake Forest and Ron Wellman and my players, it was a no-brainer."
Walter downplayed his sacrifice as a decision to be made without question.
"I would do anything to help any one of my players and any one of my family members," said Walter. "Anything that I could do in my power that I could do to give them a better quality of life, is something I want to do. Maybe it's something as little as helping mentor them in their academic pursuits or help them choose a major, or something of a greater magnitude like this. But my number one priorities in life are my family and my team and I will do anything to help any one of those people."
Both patients are doing well and are expecting to fully recover. Walter will miss a couple of early scrimmage games, but will be there as soon as he is able.
Jordan hopes to start swinging a bat in a couple of months and work from there. If all goes well, he plans to re-enter school during the summer in preparation for the Fall.
”Our thoughts and prayers are with Kevin, Tom, and their families,” said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf®. “We are so proud to be able to work with people like this. Beyond being a great athlete and a great coach, they are great human beings.”
Wake Forest will play its first home game on the AstroTurf® in Winston-Salem on February 22, against Western Carolina.
About AstroTurf®
For many athletes and sport enthusiasts, the AstroTurf® brand has redefined the way the game is played. The company offers advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport and specialized synthetic turf systems with proprietary engineered technologies, leveraging the industry’s only vertically integrated manufacturing system. A growing number of high schools, colleges, professional sports teams and municipalities continue to select AstroTurf®-branded products for their premium quality, technical superiority and safety. Recent innovations from AstroTurf® include GameDay Grass™ 3D with RootZone®, a polyethylene/nylon hybrid system which most closely replicates natural grass; TurfAide™, a non-chemical antimicrobial shield protecting against MRSA and other infectious bacteria; and AstroFlect™ Technology which significantly reduces turf surface temperatures. To learn more, visit www.astroturfusa.com.
