 "Photo: Jacqueline Wittman")
Tim Bellmon, assistant basketball coach, underwent a kidney transplant during the Rams season, giving them an emotional boost and reminding them of the importance of basketball and life.
Bellmon returned to the court for the RRAC season final for the Rams on Feb. 27 to show his dedication to the team. It was the last home game for the Rams, and Bellmon was sure not to miss it.
The Rams won their third consecutive RRAC Championship after defeating Our Lady of the Lake University 87-85 with Bellmon on the sideline. Bellmon said he made every effort to attend the match, focusing on getting well in order to be there.
“The day after my surgery, I was already asking my doctor to let me go to the game because I wanted to be there for the men,” Bellmon said.
After the win, the Rams gave Bellmon an autographed game ball to show their support of what he endured.
Bellmon experienced kidney failure in July 2007 and began dialysis in December. He was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis, a common form of kidney disease.
He was able to receive a transplant, thanks to an expanded criteria donor organ: a kidney from a donor older than 55 years old.
With an ECD kidney, patients get a transplant quicker than waiting for a standard kidney. In March 2008 Bellmon was put on the list in need of a kidney donor.
Bellmon underwent a kidney transplant on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7, at UT Southwestern hospital in Dallas.
The only information Bellmon received about the donor was that the individual was from Corpus Christi.
Bellmon said he is doing better now, seven weeks after the transplant. It will take an additional three to six months to heal and he sees the doctor three times a week. He takes 20 pills a day and will have to take eight pills everyday to fight infections and kidney rejection down the road.
For now, Bellmon is following the doctor’s orders and taking it one step at a time. Bellmon said he is looking forward to getting back on campus on a regular basis in June or July, and the men are thrilled.
“Our practices weren’t the same without him,” said senior forward Hector Mukweyi. “He brought fun to the court and kept us positive.”
When Bellmon became a part of the Wesleyan staff last summer, he told the men that he was going through dialysis at the time and would be missing periodically.
“We didn’t expect the transplant to happen during the season, so it affected us a lot because he is big part of our team,” Mukweyi said.
Bellmon said the team has been very supportive.
“Basketball and my son, Tyson, have helped me through all of this,” he said.
According to Bellmon, after a kidney transplant there is a 60 percent chance that his disease may return and cause kidney failure.
“I’m doing a lot better, but I am a long way from being in the clear,” he said.
Bellmon has to wear a face mask until his immune system builds up. He is hoping to stop wearing it soon depending on what the doctor says.
“It’s how you survive,” he said. “You feel like you can do other stuff, but I have to go by the book so I can do everything possible to avoid rejection.”
Since the start of dialysis and still today, Bellmon said the coaches have made an extra effort to keep him involved with what is going on with the team.
“I couldn’t have done it without the team and coaches,” he said. “From day one, they have been very supportive, especially Coach Terry Waldrop and Brennen Shingleton. They keep me going and involved. I look forward to hearing from them every day.”
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