Shoeshine man gets 'amazing' tip of a lifetime a new kidney

A Calgary shoeshine man got the best tip he could ever get from a longtime customer a vital organ.

PatDardano had been shiningRandyHaatvedt'sshoes at Pat's Place inside 5th Avenue Place in Calgarysince the late 1980s.

Then Haatvedtheard thatDardanohad been diagnosed witha condition known asWegener'sdisease, which attacks the blood vessels and vital organs.

"Pat's kidney disease had reached the point that maybe he was going toneed to go on the transplant list," said Haatvedton The Calgary Eyeopeneron Thursday.

"I'd been thinking there was maybe something more I wanted to do,when Iheard Pat might need a kidney.I knew my blood type was O negative and thought, 'Gee, maybe there's a possibility here.'"

'I was just shocked'

Haatvedtspoke to the living donor program people at Foothills hospital, who ran him through a series of tests, before determining that he was a match for Dardano.

Foothills told Haatvedt that one of the conditions was that he had to inform Dardanoof his plan, which Haatvedt had initially been reluctant to do, because he was afraid of getting Dardano's hopes up.

For months, he had been prying information out of Dardano without tipping him off things like his last name, his blood type and the name of his doctor.

I couldn't even talk for a few seconds.- PatDardano, on hearing acustomer wanted to give him a kidney

Dardano chalked those little questionsup to idle chatter between a client and himself until one day in early 2012, when Haatvedtplopped himself onto a chair for a shoe shine.

"He said, 'Pat, Iwant to get my shoes shined, but I also want to talk to you,'" said Dardano. "'I phoned the living donor [program at Foothills Hospital]andtold them I want to donate one of my kidneys to you.'

"I didn't know what to say," Dardano said. "I was just shocked. What do you say to that? I couldn't even talk for a few seconds."

At that point, Dardano's health was failing. He'd had a seizure. He was on dialysis. He almost wasn't able to work.

Anxiety struck on night before surgery

Thinking back to that fateful time in July 2012, Haatvedt now 63says he had one brief moment, just before the transplant, where he wondered whether he was doing the right thing.

"It was about 90 minutes [long], the evening before the surgery was scheduled to be done," Haatvedt said.

"We were checked into Foothills Hospital, all set to go, the tests are all done, no more compatability tests to be done, and for about an hour and a half that evening, I had a bit of an 'Oh, my God,what have I gotten myself into' moment?"

Nothing specific happened to prompt the doubt, he said it was just an isolated moment of anxiety.

"After that it passed," he said. "I got a good night's sleep, was up the following morningand away we went."

'It's been amazing'

The donation took place.

Now,Dardanoisback at Pat's Place, which he's been running for 32 years now, since he arrived in Canada from Italy in 1984.

"I'm back to work now. I can travel again. It's been amazing [I'm] pretty much normal," saidDardano.

Dardano still shines Haatvedt's shoes, and the duo regularly meet for coffee as well and have dinner together every July 11, which is their transplantanniversary.

Both men are healthy today.

Sharing stories before Kidney March

They're both sharing their story in advance of the Kidney March, a 100-km walk from KananaskisCountryto Calgary, which kicks off at 8 a.m. Fridayin Millarville,just southwest of Calgary.

The march raises awareness and funds for research and support programs for people with kidney disease.

In its seven-year history, the Kidney March says it has raised more than $5 million.

With files from The Calgary Eyeopener

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