{"id":65961,"date":"2022-09-29T13:13:19","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T19:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=65961"},"modified":"2025-03-20T15:20:52","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T21:20:52","slug":"missouri-farmer-boasts-one-of-the-worlds-longest-lasting-transplanted-kidneys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/missouri-farmer-boasts-one-of-the-worlds-longest-lasting-transplanted-kidneys\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri farmer, 80, boasts one of the world\u2019s longest lasting transplanted kidneys. His sister\u2019s kidney has lasted 56 years and counting."},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Living with one of the longest lasting transplanted kidneys in the world | UCHealth\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/97WXn0ymAdA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Video by Sonya Doctorian, UCHealth<\/p>\n<p>Story by Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth<\/p>\n<p>The young Missouri farmer was on the verge of death, his legs swollen \u201clike stovepipes,\u201d as he awaited a kidney transplant at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-university-of-colorado-hospital-uch\/\">University of Colorado Hospital<\/a> back in 1966.<\/p>\n<p>The surgery was still highly experimental then. Doctors had performed the first kidney transplant in the world just a decade earlier. In the 1960s, medical pioneers were still figuring out how to perform intricate transplants and \u2014 perhaps harder still \u2014 how to keep patients alive afterward.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Thomas Starzl, later dubbed \u201cthe father of modern transplantation,\u201d <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/medschool.cuanschutz.edu\/surgery\/divisions-centers-affiliates\/transplant\/about#:~:text=To%20date%2C%20the%20University%20Colorado,for%20patients%20of%20any%20age.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">performed the world\u2019s first liver transplant at University of Colorado Hospital in 1963<\/a>, making the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-transplant-services-anschutz\/\">UCHealth liver transplant program<\/a> the longest-running in the world.<\/p>\n<p>Starzl had done Colorado\u2019s first kidney transplant in 1962 and was racing to keep the medical miracles coming.<\/p>\n<p>Lawrence \u201cButch\u201d Newman needed one fast.<\/p>\n<p>Butch, then 24, had been sick since high school with a kidney disease called acute glomerulonephritis. No one knew how he got it, perhaps from a strep infection. But it had destroyed both of his kidneys, and by May of 1966, Butch\u2019s body was turning yellow, he couldn\u2019t excrete waste and he suffered convulsions in his hometown hospital in Kirksville, Missouri.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_65903\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-65903\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-65903\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27162135\/butchandpattytiny.webp\" alt=\"Patty Newman Byrn with her brother Butch Newman and in photos as children. Patty donated her kidney to her brother 56 years ago and saved his life. Both are doing great today and Butch boasts one of the longest lasting transplanted kidneys in the world. Photo by Sonya Doctorian.\" width=\"800\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27162135\/butchandpattytiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27162135\/butchandpattytiny-300x201.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27162135\/butchandpattytiny-768x515.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27162135\/butchandpattytiny-150x101.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27162135\/butchandpattytiny-200x134.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-65903\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patty Newman Byrn, left, with her brother, Butch Newman, and in photos as children. Patty donated her kidney to her brother 56 years ago and saved his life. Both are doing great today, and Butch boasts one of the longest lasting transplanted kidneys in the world. Photo by Sonya Doctorian, UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A Missouri kidney expert knew that University of Colorado was one of the few hospitals in the country then doing transplants. The doctor made arrangements for a transfer, and an air ambulance flew Butch to Denver on May 25, 1966.<\/p>\n<p>To keep the farm and family afloat, neighbors helped plant the Newmans\u2019 crops that spring, freeing Butch\u2019s parents to be with him in Colorado as much as possible. At the hospital, a small team of nurses and doctors worked to keep Butch alive with fledgling kidney dialysis until they could find a donated kidney for him. They needed someone with relatively rare type B+ blood.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>On the verge of death, then \u2018a perfect match\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Weeks passed. \u00a0Holidays usually meant more car accidents. Maybe someone else\u2019s tragedy over Memorial Day weekend or the Fourth of July would give Butch a shot at survival. Alas, no kidneys from deceased donors surfaced.<\/p>\n<p>By mid-July, Starzl warned Butch and his dad that \u201ctime was running out.\u201d The doctors were considering using a chimpanzee kidney.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s when Butch\u2019s younger sister, Patty, sprang into action. Then 22 and a mother of a 10-month-old daughter, Patty had been home helping tend the family\u2019s farm, where tall stalks of corn and leafy green soybeans were inching into the summer sky.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom and I got in the car and drove all night. He was running out of time to find a kidney,\u201d said Patty Newman Byrn, who was then Patty Coy. (Her first husband, Richard, died in 2004.)<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66009\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66009\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-66009 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30133050\/Newman-horizontal-wheelchair-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Patty and Butch Newman with their dad, Lonnie, in Denver in 1966. Photo courtesy of the Newman family.\" width=\"800\" height=\"794\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30133050\/Newman-horizontal-wheelchair-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30133050\/Newman-horizontal-wheelchair-tiny-300x298.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30133050\/Newman-horizontal-wheelchair-tiny-150x150.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30133050\/Newman-horizontal-wheelchair-tiny-768x762.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30133050\/Newman-horizontal-wheelchair-tiny-200x199.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66009\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patty and Butch Newman with their dad, Lonnie, in Denver days before Patty donated one of her kidneys to her brother in 1966. Photo courtesy of the Newman family.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Earlier in the spring, Patty had offered to be tested to see if she was a match for her brother.<\/p>\n<p>But doctors told her she couldn\u2019t donate since she was \u201cof childbearing age.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This time, she told them to scrap those rules.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s just test me,\u201d Patty told the doctors.<\/p>\n<p>She ended up being a perfect match for her brother, \u201cbetter than identical twins,\u201d the doctors told her.<\/p>\n<p>Before allowing Patty to donate her kidney, however, the team warned her that she should not have more children since pregnancy can put stress on the mother\u2019s kidneys. They also required her to get her husband\u2019s written permission since he\u2019d have to raise their baby daughter on his own if she died during the surgery.<\/p>\n<p>Her husband quickly supported her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGo ahead,\u201d he told her. \u201cI\u2019d do if it was my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>One of the longest lasting transplanted kidneys in the world<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Thanks to Patty, Butch survived.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI went from being dead to being alive,\u201d Butch said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_65900\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-65900\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-65900 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161837\/LarryandButchNewmantiny.webp\" alt=\"Butch Newman, with his son Larry. Photo by Sonya Doctorian.\" width=\"800\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161837\/LarryandButchNewmantiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161837\/LarryandButchNewmantiny-300x197.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161837\/LarryandButchNewmantiny-768x504.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161837\/LarryandButchNewmantiny-150x98.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161837\/LarryandButchNewmantiny-200x131.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-65900\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Butch Newman and his son, Larry Newman, check the growth of the corn on their farm. Thanks to Butch&#8217;s transplant, he survived and had a son. Larry is carrying on the family&#8217;s traditions as a fourth-generation farmer. Photo by Sonya Doctorian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Since kidney transplants were so new then, referred to as \u201cradical surgeries\u201d in newspaper accounts at the time, doctors initially gave Butch a 10% chance of surviving one year. He was one of the first patients ever to receive a new anti-rejection medication called antilymphocyte serum.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey didn\u2019t know if it would kill or cure,\u201d Butch said.<\/p>\n<p>But he eagerly participated in early medical trials.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn&#8217;t have any other choice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>After the transplant, Butch had to stay for weeks in the hospital, then months in Denver as nurses and doctors monitored his new kidney. Butch\u2019s team warned him he might never walk again after suffering extensive neuropathy from swelling before the transplant.<\/p>\n<p>Within weeks, however, Butch proved them wrong. On breaks with his dad away from the hospital, Butch practiced walking at Denver\u2019s old airport where there were \u201clots of chairs to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Once he had survived a year, his team theorized that his transplanted kidney might make it just 10 years.<\/p>\n<p>Butch made it much, much longer.<\/p>\n<p>This year marks 56 years since the transplant, and an unassuming farmer now boasts one of the longest lasting transplanted kidneys in the world.<\/p>\n<p>Butch, 80, and Patty, 79, are alive and well and living still in their hometown in Missouri. Patty and her husband live on the \u201cold home place,\u201d the farm where they grew up. Butch and his wife, Louise, live less than a mile away.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66005\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66005\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-66005 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30122352\/Newman-Louise-and-Butch-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Louise and Butch were married in 1972 and have a son, Larry, who farms with them. &quot;I wasn't worried about him being a transplant. Butch did say maybe we ought to just have Larry and not any more because of the situation,&quot; Louise said, &quot;So we didn't have any more children.&quot; Photo by Sonya Doctorian.\" width=\"800\" height=\"551\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30122352\/Newman-Louise-and-Butch-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30122352\/Newman-Louise-and-Butch-tiny-300x207.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30122352\/Newman-Louise-and-Butch-tiny-768x529.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30122352\/Newman-Louise-and-Butch-tiny-150x103.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30122352\/Newman-Louise-and-Butch-tiny-200x138.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66005\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Louise and Butch Newman were married in 1972 and have a son, Larry, who farms with them. &#8220;I wasn&#8217;t worried about his transplant. Butch did say maybe we ought to just have Larry and not any more because of the situation,&#8221; Louise said, &#8220;So we didn&#8217;t have any more children.&#8221; Photo by Sonya Doctorian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>They are the proud parents of a son, Larry, who farms with them, along with their daughter-in-law, Hayley, and their 4-year-old grandson, Lucas.<\/p>\n<p>Patty ignored doctors\u2019 advice not to have more children. After the transplant, she went on to have three more children. Along with her four children, she now has 24 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. She also works as a bookkeeper in Kirksville, the same job she has worked for 34 years. She loves her job and has no plans to retire.<\/p>\n<p>To what do Butch and Patty attribute their health and longevity?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou just don\u2019t give up,\u201d Patty said. \u201cThere\u2019s not a quitting bone in us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Butch credits perseverance, a positive attitude and some divine intervention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe good Lord was taking care of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66007\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66007\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-66007 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30122617\/Newman-3-generations-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Three generations of Newmans: Butch Newman who boasts one of the longest lasting transplanted kidneys in the world, along with his son and grandson.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30122617\/Newman-3-generations-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30122617\/Newman-3-generations-tiny-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30122617\/Newman-3-generations-tiny-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30122617\/Newman-3-generations-tiny-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30122617\/Newman-3-generations-tiny-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66007\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Three generations of Newmans. Butch Newman assumed he wouldn&#8217;t live long. After he and his wife had their son, Butch prayed he&#8217;d live long enough to raise him. Today, father and son grow corn and soybeans together. Larry&#8217;s son, Lucas, loves tagging along. Photo by Sonya Doctorian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Transplanted kidney that lasts 56 years \u2018extraordinary by any metric\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Butch\u2019s survival all of these years \u2014 and the kidney\u2019s longevity \u2014 is simply remarkable said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/elizabeth-pomfret\/\">Dr. Elizabeth Pomfret<\/a>, <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/som.ucdenver.edu\/Profiles\/Faculty\/Profile\/24371\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chief of Transplant Surgery<\/a> at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, now located on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-at-university-of-colorado-anschutz-medical-campus\/\">Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday we have all of these advances, and if a patient gets 20 years or more from a living-donor kidney, that\u2019s excellent,\u201d Pomfret said. \u201cIt\u2019s really incredible to have a kidney that lasts more than 30 years. And 56 years is just extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pomfret is carrying on the innovative work that Starzl started in Colorado decades ago. She got to meet her predecessor before <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/47f5eadb83b0416db86b22dea36d993d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Starzl died at age 90 in 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Back in the early days, organ transplantation was a new frontier, just like travel to space.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo much wasn\u2019t known. Doctors had to learn from people like Butch,\u201d Pomfret said. \u201cWhat does happen after a transplant? Maybe he\u2019ll live a year. Well, he beat that. Maybe he\u2019ll make it to five years. Then, he has a child. Oh my God. Nobody knew what immunosuppression was going to do to fertility. Would he die of some type of cancer since he needed all these medications to alter his immune system? And, here he is, 56 years later on a tractor. It\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_65898\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-65898\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-65898\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161740\/Dr-Elizabeth-Pomfrettiny.webp\" alt=\"Dr. Elizabeth Pomfret, Chief of Transplant Surgery, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. Photo by Sonya Doctorian.\" width=\"800\" height=\"548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161740\/Dr-Elizabeth-Pomfrettiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161740\/Dr-Elizabeth-Pomfrettiny-300x206.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161740\/Dr-Elizabeth-Pomfrettiny-768x526.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161740\/Dr-Elizabeth-Pomfrettiny-150x103.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161740\/Dr-Elizabeth-Pomfrettiny-200x137.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-65898\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Elizabeth Pomfret, Chief of Transplant Surgery, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. Photo by Sonya Doctorian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Pomfret saluted Patty for making it all possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPatty\u2019s act of heroism to be a donor for her brother can\u2019t be overstated. It\u2019s extraordinary. And she really had very little information to go on,\u201d Pomfret said.<\/p>\n<p>Patty led the way when very few people were brave enough to volunteer. She and donors like her have created a legacy that now saves thousands of lives every year, Pomfret said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOrgan donors today have these same virtues and a sense of wanting to help someone in need, no matter what the cost is to them. It\u2019s an incredible act of selfless love,\u201d Pomfret said.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Fishing, farming and raising puppies<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Well before Patty got tested and saved her brother\u2019s life, she had a strong hunch they\u2019d be a match.<\/p>\n<p>The siblings always had been close.<\/p>\n<p>Growing up 20 months apart on the family farm, with no other brothers or sisters and few close neighbors, Butch and Patty entertained each other raising puppies, fishing and playing in ditches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe got along pretty good most of the time,\u201d Butch said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs long as I did whatever he told me,\u201d Patty added with a laugh.<\/p>\n<p>The kids helped their folks, Lonnie and Virginia, with the farm too. Butch started driving a tractor at age 8. To reach the clutch with his feet, he had to wedge himself down on the cabin floor and press his back against the seat. Together, the siblings attended a one-room schoolhouse through the eighth grade before going to town for high school.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66047\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66047\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-66047\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/03163401\/Butch-on-mower-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Butch Newman mowing the grass at his Missouri farm. Photo by Sonya Doctorian.\" width=\"800\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/03163401\/Butch-on-mower-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/03163401\/Butch-on-mower-tiny-300x174.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/03163401\/Butch-on-mower-tiny-768x445.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/03163401\/Butch-on-mower-tiny-150x87.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/03163401\/Butch-on-mower-tiny-200x116.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66047\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Back when Butch Newman was a child, he could barely reach the tractor pedal. Now he buzzes around easily on a mower. Farming and family have meant everything to Butch. Thanks to his kidney transplant, he has lived a &#8220;perfectly normal&#8221; life. Photo by Sonya Doctorian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Butch first got sick with kidney disease in high school. By his early 20s, his illness was getting worse and worse until he suffered convulsions on May 21, 1966, and went into a coma. That\u2019s when the air ambulance flew him to Denver, and Patty soon followed.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Apprehension before the transplant: \u2018It was a big deal back then\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"su-callout-box col-xs-12 col-sm-6 right\" style=\"background-color:#dce4e7; color:#2e3b44;\">\n<h3><strong>Living donor organ donation: How you can help save a life<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Who? Anyone age 18 or older who is in good health can donate a kidney.<\/li>\n<li>How? Healthy people have two kidneys and need just one to function normally.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/services\/transplant-services\/living-donation\/\">Learn more about living organ donation. Or, if you&#8217;re interested, fill out a questionnaire.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Or call 720-848-0855 for more information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Not a perfect match? You can still donate a kidney. Doctors can use \u2018paired matches.\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>If you\u2019re not a perfect match for someone who needs a kidney, transplant experts can arrange \u201cpaired matches.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>What\u2019s a paired match? The donor\u2019s kidney can go to another person for whom it\u2019s a match, while a recipient you know can get a different donated kidney.<\/li>\n<li>UCHealth participates in an international program that makes paired donations easier.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Why living donation works so well:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>If the living donor is a blood relative with a genetic match, the risk of organ rejection goes down.<\/li>\n<li>A kidney from a living donor typically works sooner and better than a kidney from a deceased donor. It also lasts longer, much like Patty Newman Byrn&#8217;s kidney.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>The siblings still vividly remember the morning of July 29, 1966. Both tear up as they recall meeting on gurneys in the hospital hallway before nurses took them in the elevators to travel to separate operating rooms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t scared,\u201d Patty said. \u201cWe were young. You don\u2019t feel like anything bad can happen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Butch wasn\u2019t afraid either.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had faith in the doctors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>But both felt the import of the surgeries and the fears their parents were facing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was really hard on Mom and Dad. When you have all of your family going in for surgery, and you don\u2019t know what the outcome is going to be, it\u2019s hard,\u201d Patty said. \u201cIt was a big deal back then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The siblings talked as they met in the hallway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe took ahold of each other\u2019s hand and I said, \u2018I\u2019ll see you down the road.\u2019\u201d Patty recalled.<\/p>\n<p>Butch knew it was a life-or-death moment.<\/p>\n<p>His biggest fear was that Patty would be in a lot of pain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t want her hurting. Then, boom, it was time to go down,\u201d Butch recalled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told him that I loved him and that I\u2019d see him later,\u201d Patty said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told her I loved her and I\u2019d see her in a little bit,\u201d Butch said.<\/p>\n<p>For their parents, the hours of waiting were torture.<\/p>\n<p>Their dad was a \u201cnervous Nellie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their mom was stoic and strong. She had endured health challenges of her own.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was sick a lot when we were little. She had bleeding ulcers. They took her gallbladder and 3\/5 of her stomach out. Still, she was always positive,\u201d Patty said.<\/p>\n<p>But as doctors tried to save her son\u2019s life by doing a major surgery on her daughter, Virginia was scared. She prayed in the hospital chapel, then anxiously awaited news about the couple\u2019s only children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe always said it was the worst day of her life until it all came out fine,\u201d Patty said.<\/p>\n<p>The surgeries took place in separate operating rooms. Dr. Thomas Marchioro removed Patty\u2019s kidney and Starzl immediately placed it in Butch\u2019s body. Patty\u2019s surgery took about four hours; Butch was done after about 7 \u00bd hours.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66017\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66017\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-66017\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30150113\/Dr.-Starzl-photo-from-newsletter-crop2-sized.webp\" alt=\"Dr. Thomas Starzl at University of Colorado Hospital. Photo: courtesy of Nancy Barfield.\" width=\"600\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30150113\/Dr.-Starzl-photo-from-newsletter-crop2-sized.webp 600w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30150113\/Dr.-Starzl-photo-from-newsletter-crop2-sized-300x175.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30150113\/Dr.-Starzl-photo-from-newsletter-crop2-sized-150x87.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30150113\/Dr.-Starzl-photo-from-newsletter-crop2-sized-200x116.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66017\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Thomas Starzl at University of Colorado Hospital. Photo: courtesy of Nancy Barfield.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>These days, the surgery to donate a kidney is much faster and requires only a low-risk, minimally-invasive procedure.<\/p>\n<p>Back then, Patty endured full abdominal surgery and Marchioro removed one of her ribs to get to her left kidney. She was very sore and sick afterward and had to stay in the hospital for nine days. She left with a large semi-circular scar that stretched from her belly around her side to her back.<\/p>\n<p>Butch, on the other hand, felt significantly better almost immediately as Patty\u2019s kidney quickly started producing urine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never was on dialysis again,\u201d Butch said. \u201cDr. Starzl was the best in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With his body finally able to process waste again, Butch\u2019s swelling began going down and his appetite increased. He had gotten down to just 99 pounds before the transplant and was eager to pack on pounds and rebuild his strength.<\/p>\n<p>Butch recovered on the 8<sup>th<\/sup> floor of the hospital that was then called Colorado General and was located in Denver at east 9<sup>th<\/sup> Avenue and north Colorado Boulevard. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-university-of-colorado-hospital-uch\/\">UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital<\/a> later moved to Aurora.)<\/p>\n<p>Butch remained in the hospital for a few weeks, then he and his dad stayed in Denver through the fall so the transplant team could closely monitor him.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66018\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66018\" style=\"width: 663px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-66018 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30150616\/Newman-old-CU-hospital-tiny.webp\" alt=\"The University of Colorado Hospital in its previous location in Denver. Back in 1966, Butch Newman received a transplant at the hospital. He now boasts one of the longest lasting transplanted kidneys in the world. Photo: University of Colorado Hospital.\" width=\"663\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30150616\/Newman-old-CU-hospital-tiny.webp 663w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30150616\/Newman-old-CU-hospital-tiny-300x199.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30150616\/Newman-old-CU-hospital-tiny-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30150616\/Newman-old-CU-hospital-tiny-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66018\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The University of Colorado Hospital (then known as Colorado General) in its previous location in Denver. Back in 1966, Butch Newman received a transplant at the hospital. He now boasts one of the longest lasting transplanted kidneys in the world. Photo: University of Colorado Hospital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>From walking to the airport to trips to the dog park: a path to recovery<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"su-callout-box col-xs-12 col-sm-6 right\" style=\"background-color:#dce4e7; color:#2e3b44;\">\n<h2>Her transplanted kidney turns 100 this month<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nancy Wennblom Ludwig\u2019s mom gave her life twice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The first time came, of course, when Wilma Wennblom gave birth to her daughter in 1946.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The second time came back in 1963 when Wilma donated a kidney to her daughter who was then 17 and gravely ill.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nancy is now 76, and for all of these years, her mom\u2019s kidney has kept her healthy, happy and grateful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like Butch Newman, Nancy was one of the first people in the U.S. to receive a kidney transplant. Her surgery took place on October 7, 1963. Like Newman, she received her kidney in Denver at the University of Colorado Hospital, then known as Colorado General.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This month, the kidney Nancy received will turn 100.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nancy\u2019s mom was on the cusp of her 41st birthday when she gave her daughter one of her kidneys. (Wilma is no longer alive. Her birthday is coming up on October 27.) Counting the 59 years Nancy has had the kidney, plus the 41 years it spent in Wilma\u2019s body, the kidney turns a century old this year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After her successful transplant, Nancy went on to marry her husband, Don, and the couple had three children. Nancy always has felt extraordinarily lucky that her mom and Dr. Thomas Starzl teamed up to save her life.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nAfter surgery, doctors warned Butch that he might never walk again due to the damage his body had suffered before the transplant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll see about that,\u201d the determined young man thought to himself.<\/p>\n<p>Then, he got busy recovering.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey wanted to put braces on me. I told them, \u2018No. I don\u2019t think so.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Denver\u2019s old airport used to be minutes from the hospital. Butch and his dad figured out that the concourses provided a great place to practice walking. If Butch got tired or felt off balance, he could easily find a chair and rest for a few minutes.<\/p>\n<p>The farmers, who were more accustomed to flatlands, also ventured on regular outings to the mountains. And, there were memorable trips to the old greyhound dog-racing track in Commerce City.<\/p>\n<p>Any time Butch ventured away from the hospital, he had to take a \u201cpee jug\u201d with him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were collecting every drop of pee. We had to keep track of what we drank and they measured the pee and tested it to see if the kidney was taking the poisons out. So, we just gathered up our pee jugs, and off we went to the dog park,\u201d Butch said, grinning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDad and I knew zero about dogs,\u201d Butch said.<\/p>\n<p>But one time, they bet $2 on two random dogs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe decided they looked all right. They ran the race and won. It paid $127. We went back to the hospital with our pee jugs and our cash and all the nurses had a big laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Butch grew close with the staff and his fellow transplant patients.<\/p>\n<p>Every Wednesday, all of the patients returned for long check-ups at Starzl\u2019s weekly transplant clinic.<\/p>\n<p>Nurse Nancy Barfield, now 83 and retired in Wyoming, managed the clinic for 25 years. She got to know Butch well and still keeps in touch with him and his wife, Louise, whom Butch met and married six years later.<\/p>\n<p>Barfield remembers Butch being in critical condition before Patty saved his life. (Barfield always called him Larry.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe poisons build up in your body. Dialysis will take it down a little, but it was really primitive in those days. Dialysis was like a big washing machine,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was really sad. Larry was getting sicker and sicker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The wait for a kidney was excruciating.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66034\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66034\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-66034\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/03121543\/Newman-Nancy-with-scrapbook-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Retired nurse, Nancy Barfield, managed the post-transplant clinic for 25 years. She kept in touch with patients for years and kept a scrapbook. Photo courtesy of Nancy Barfield.\" width=\"350\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/03121543\/Newman-Nancy-with-scrapbook-tiny.webp 562w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/03121543\/Newman-Nancy-with-scrapbook-tiny-169x300.webp 169w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/03121543\/Newman-Nancy-with-scrapbook-tiny-84x150.webp 84w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/03121543\/Newman-Nancy-with-scrapbook-tiny-200x356.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66034\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Retired nurse, Nancy Barfield, managed the post-transplant clinic for 25 years. She kept in touch with patients for years and celebrated their extended families and milestones with a scrapbook. Photo courtesy of Nancy Barfield.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIn the early days, there weren\u2019t any donors. It\u2019s not like today. He was pretty close to dying,\u201d Barfield said.<\/p>\n<p>She loved her work, but the struggles in the early days of transplantation were tough to witness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were ups and downs. A lot of people were dying. It broke our hearts when we lost patients. It was all quite experimental,\u201d Barfield said.<\/p>\n<p>The doctors hadn\u2019t yet figured out which anti-rejection medications worked best and at what doses. In some people, immunosuppressants caused patients to develop fatal cases of pneumocystis pneumonia, an illness that later killed many early AIDS patients.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019d be getting treated with oxygen tents and you\u2019d know they were doomed,\u201d Barfield said.<\/p>\n<p>There was a lot of sadness, but great joy, too, for people like Butch.<\/p>\n<p>Barfield remembers his instant rejuvenation after the transplant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was like night and day,\u201d Barfield said. \u201cThey would come back from surgery with a catheter and they\u2019d get so excited when the urine would come through. The BUN (blood urea nitrogen levels \u2013 which measure kidney function) would come down, and their personalities would come out. That\u2019s the beautiful and exciting part of working in transplants: seeing all of these changes and now, all these children and grandchildren of these early transplant patients.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A remarkable era in medical advancements as doctors pioneered transplants<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Barfield worked closely with Starzl for several years until he moved to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1981.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was brilliant. His mind never quit. He always wanted to push forward. He was working with new drugs all of the time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Butch benefited greatly from Starzl\u2019s work on anti-rejection medications, although the shots he had to receive weekly were painful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt hurt really badly. It burned,\u201d Butch said.<\/p>\n<p>Still, he didn\u2019t mind being a lab rat of sorts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was better than dying,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>To this day, Butch takes anti-rejection medications every day, the same drugs he has taken all of these years.<\/p>\n<p>Starzl loved keeping close tabs on patients both immediately after transplants and for years afterward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe would come by and want to know about the kidney input and outtake for everyone,\u201d Barfield said.<\/p>\n<p>She and fellow nurses knew they always had to have data ready.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019d go over all of the statistics. He was that kind of person. He would look at you and wait for an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Back home for Thanksgiving<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>After leaving Missouri in a coma on that emergency flight to Colorado back in May of 1966, Butch was able to return home on his own two feet just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving that year.<\/p>\n<p>While recuperating, he spent the winter working as a mechanic at a tractor dealership.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat gave me a warm place to get stronger,\u201d he said. \u201cI used to do a lot of welding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Milestones came and went.<\/p>\n<p>Butch made it to a year after the surgery and was thrilled to have beaten the longshot odds he\u2019d been given of surviving.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_65901\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-65901\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-65901\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161859\/UCHealth-Newman-Family-Dinner-4tiny.webp\" alt=\"Three generations of Newmans gather for dinner. Butch and Louise's grandson, Lucas, 4, is the family's pride and joy. &quot;When Patty was so willing to give her brother a kidney, how can you ever say 'thank you' enough?,&quot; Louise Newman said. &quot;It's just a wonderful gift.&quot; Photo by Sonya Doctorian.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161859\/UCHealth-Newman-Family-Dinner-4tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161859\/UCHealth-Newman-Family-Dinner-4tiny-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161859\/UCHealth-Newman-Family-Dinner-4tiny-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161859\/UCHealth-Newman-Family-Dinner-4tiny-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/27161859\/UCHealth-Newman-Family-Dinner-4tiny-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-65901\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Three generations of Newmans gather for dinner. Butch and Louise&#8217;s grandson, Lucas, 4, is the family&#8217;s pride and joy. &#8220;When Patty was so willing to give her brother a kidney, how can you ever say &#8216;thank you&#8217; enough?,&#8221; Louise Newman said. &#8220;It&#8217;s just a wonderful gift.&#8221; Photo by Sonya Doctorian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He got busy farming. Then six years later, met his future wife at a bowling alley.<\/p>\n<p>Louise had grown up in nearby Novinger as a \u201ctown girl.\u201d But after a few dates, she fell in love with Butch, married him in 1972, and quickly fell in love with the farming life too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI like the quiet. You\u2019re not close to anybody. I like the country life. And there\u2019s something special about growing corn and soybeans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Butch and Louise always worked together. She became a pro at driving trucks. They farmed their own land and took their combine on the road to harvest other people\u2019s crops too.<\/p>\n<p>Before long, 10 years had passed since the transplant, then another decade and another and another and another.<\/p>\n<p>Butch\u2019s favorite job is running the combine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love it so much: cutting the grain. More than anything, I love cutting wheat. It\u2019s a pretty crop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Soon after marrying, Butch and Louise decided to start a family. In the back of his mind, Butch assumed he would die young, so the couple decided to have just one child.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was only supposed to live 10 years with this kidney. I thought to myself, \u2018If I can just live long enough to play ball with him and get him raised, I\u2019ll be thankful.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He got his wish.<\/p>\n<p>Their son, Larry, is now 47 and is thrilled to be raising a son of his own.<\/p>\n<h2>Small town doctor who makes house calls wondered if he&#8217;d ever see Butch again<\/h2>\n<p>Over the years, Butch\u2019s primary care provider, Dr. Ferrel Moots, has kept a close watch on his friend and patient.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still make house calls for my favorite people,\u201d said Moots, now 78, as he sits at Butch and Louise\u2019s kitchen table.<\/p>\n<p>Moots had been a second-year medical student and was training in family medicine at the local Kirksville hospital when he saw Butch in dire straits back in 1966.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was emaciated. Nothing was sticking to him and he didn\u2019t have good color,\u201d Moots said.<\/p>\n<p>There was little the Missouri medical team could do to help.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKidney dialysis wasn\u2019t available everywhere across the country then. He was in end-stage renal disease,\u201d Moots said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66013\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66013\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-66013\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30144132\/Newman-with-Moots-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Butch Newman with Dr. Ferrel Moots, his doctor and friend. Photo by Sonya Doctorian.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30144132\/Newman-with-Moots-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30144132\/Newman-with-Moots-tiny-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30144132\/Newman-with-Moots-tiny-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30144132\/Newman-with-Moots-tiny-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30144132\/Newman-with-Moots-tiny-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66013\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Butch Newman with Dr. Ferrel Moots, his doctor and friend. Photo by Sonya Doctorian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The emergency flight amounted to a medical Hail Mary. As his friend departed, Moots had a sinking feeling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was wondering if I was ever going to see him again,\u201d Moots said.<\/p>\n<p>But Butch\u2019s will to live \u2014 and determination to farm again \u2014 were obvious by the time he returned home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s an amazing person. His mom and dad were tough. Farm people don\u2019t lay around and whine. He wanted to live and farm and take care of his family,\u201d Moots said.<\/p>\n<p>Butch\u2019s description is even simpler: \u201cYou get up. You get out. Or you die.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Along with working, Butch also made frequent trips back to Colorado for checkups.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first, I used to go back every two weeks, then once a month, then every two or three months,\u201d Butch said. \u201cAll the patients came back for checkups.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As he healed, Butch became a local celebrity of sorts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone was amazed. It was an earth-moving event. Here was this young Missouri farm boy getting a kidney transplant in Denver. Those things were unheard of around here,\u201d Moots said.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A special anniversary and a congratulatory letter<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>After becoming her brother\u2019s hero, Patty went back to business as usual. She never had any health challenges. Many people have sought her advice about transplantation and she\u2019s become a proud advocate for organ donation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never had any kidney problems. I recommend it to everyone without a second thought,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66010\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66010\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-66010\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30133444\/Newman-PattyAfterDonation-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Patty recovering in the hospital after she donated one of her kidneys to her brother and saved his life back in 1966. Photo courtesy of the Newman family.\" width=\"800\" height=\"488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30133444\/Newman-PattyAfterDonation-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30133444\/Newman-PattyAfterDonation-tiny-300x183.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30133444\/Newman-PattyAfterDonation-tiny-768x468.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30133444\/Newman-PattyAfterDonation-tiny-150x92.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/09\/30133444\/Newman-PattyAfterDonation-tiny-200x122.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66010\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patty recovering in the hospital after she donated one of her kidneys to her brother and saved his life back in 1966. Patty&#8217;s recovery was painful, but she always counseled others to make the same choice she did. And organ donation has gotten much easier. Photo courtesy of the Newman family.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Every year, around the time of the transplant anniversary, the siblings and their spouses celebrate with a dinner at a favorite restaurant near a lake outside town.<\/p>\n<p>For the 50<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary, they held a big party.<\/p>\n<p>Butch also received a letter from Dr. Starzl.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCongratulations on your 50 years of life, made possible by your sister\u2019s wonderful kidney,\u201d Starzl wrote. \u201cWhat a wonderful accomplishment your survival has been. You have become one of the long-standing keepers of the kidney transplantation flame with benefits to your sister as well as yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Starzl, himself, had just turned 90.<\/p>\n<p>He kept in contact over the years with Butch and many other patients.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was a very gracious man,\u201d Barfield said.<\/p>\n<p>Starzl died less than a year later in March of 2017 and <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/transplant\/about\/starzl-institute\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was heralded as a groundbreaking medical pioneer.<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>The keys to survival: mental toughness and love<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Sometimes the siblings\u2019 early role in organ donation seems like no big deal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t even really think about it. I just take it for granted,\u201d Patty said.<\/p>\n<p>At other times, they\u2019re in awe that 56 years have passed.<\/p>\n<p>Moots encourages others to follow in Patty\u2019s footsteps. He sums up the advice of a country doctor this way: \u201cEat your greens. Say your prayers. Live by the golden rule and donate your organs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOrgan donation has saved so many people\u2019s lives. It\u2019s one of the best things you can do in life. Period,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Butch has appreciated Patty\u2019s gift every day since 1966. His kidney health has been excellent ever since. He\u2019s had some heart troubles, but has done well after a quadruple bypass surgery in 2000.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve lived a completely normal life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66044\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66044\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-66044\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/10\/03161152\/Newman-silhouette-tiny.webp\" alt=\"Butch Newman, who has one of the longest lasting transplanted kidneys in the world takes a break while working on his farm. Photo by Sonya Doctorian.\" width=\"800\" height=\"559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/10\/03161152\/Newman-silhouette-tiny.webp 800w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/10\/03161152\/Newman-silhouette-tiny-300x210.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/10\/03161152\/Newman-silhouette-tiny-768x537.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/10\/03161152\/Newman-silhouette-tiny-150x105.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/10\/03161152\/Newman-silhouette-tiny-200x140.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66044\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Butch Newman takes a break while his son, Larry, works on the spray tank. Said Butch: \u201cI was only supposed to live 10 years with this kidney. I thought to myself, \u2018If I can just live long enough to play ball with him and get him raised, I\u2019ll be thankful.\u2019\u201d Photo by Sonya Doctorian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Barfield, the transplant nurse, credits Butch\u2019s attitude.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMental toughness plays a big role. All of these patients were walking on thin ice. Their lives were almost taken away. Then, life was given back,\u201d she said. \u201cHe always took good care of himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Butch credits the big guy upstairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a miracle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s also forever grateful to his little sis.<\/p>\n<p>The affection goes both ways. Said Patty: \u201cIt\u2019s all about love and family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Editor&#8217;s note: Butch Newman died peacefully at his home on March 19, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Video by Sonya Doctorian, UCHealth Story by Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth The young Missouri farmer was on the verge of death, his legs swollen \u201clike stovepipes,\u201d as he awaited a kidney transplant at University of Colorado Hospital back in 1966. The surgery was still highly experimental then. Doctors had performed the first kidney transplant in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2123,"featured_media":65904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[3414,3415,39],"class_list":["post-65961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-kidney-transplants","tag-living-kidney-donation","tag-transplant-services"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Farmer boasts one of the world&#039;s longest lasting transplanted kidneys - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 1966, kidney transplants were rare and dangerous. 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His sister\u2019s kidney has lasted 56 years and counting."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","name":"UCHealth Today","description":"UCHealth Today","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization","name":"UCHealth","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"UCHealth"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/x.com\/uchealth","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uchealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/14839\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/d43cd81d6f8e440a3e496f8a012c68e9","name":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth"},"description":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon is a proud Coloradan. 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