By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
It was a real longshot.
Last May Byron Wolfe’s kidneys were failing.
He needed a donor.
He turned to prayer.
“I’m a firm believer in The Lord,” said the 69-year-old resident of Villa Hills, who three times-a-week is at the Davita Dialysis Center in Crestview Hills for some three-hour treatments.
And he’s also a good friend of Kelly Hansen, lead singer of the rock band, Foreigner.
Byron Wolfe, at his dialysis treatment. He has found a kidney donor. (Photo by Andy Furman)
“I’m well-known in the gourmet industry,” said Wolfe, who is in sales management with Market Force, “and Kelly is a big gourmet cook. We’ve been friends for some time.”
So, what do friends do for friends?
Kelly Hansen posted this message on his Instagram account:
“A good friend of mine and the band’s, Byron Wolfe is suffering end-stage renal disease ESRD. He started Dialysis in May and is in need of a kidney transplant, preferably from a live donor, blood type O+. I know this is a long shot, but I thought spreading the word to the beautiful Foreigner world could help! If you or someone you know might be willing to help, please contact Breanna Bronson at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Oh 513-585-1427.
“Donation costs are covered by Byron’s insurance and all your medical info will be kept confidential. Byron and his wife Carla have always been so gracious to me for years and he has been very helpful in helping forward my food-cooking endeavors. Oh, and of course, you’ll get Foreigner tickets whenever you want.”
Not too shabby — but there’s more to this story.
Byron’s wife took the social media post – put it on her Facebook account and viola, you could call it a minor miracle.
Make that a major miracle.
“Well, this week we received a message from an old elementary school friend of Carla’s,” Byron told the Northern Kentucky Tribune during his Dialysis session Monday. “They live in Vincennes, Ind. and said they would be visiting Cincinnati with family, and asked if we wanted to have breakfast. Sure, we hadn’t seen them since last last year.”
The visitors showed up at the Wolfe’s home Sunday morning, after reading Carla’s re-post of Hansen’s message.
“They came in, sat down and we rehashed old, fun times we had together in the past,” Wolfe said.
Talk came around Byron’s failed kidneys and he told his guests – Duke and Joanna – that dialysis is no fun, but it beats the alternative.”
“We talked about the lead that I had a couple of months ago and we discussed the letter that Foreigner had put on his Instagram and how neat it was to get that endorsement,” he said.
Then, according to Byron – Duke started to get teary-eyed and he asked if he could do him a favor.
“Duke asked me to tell the staff at my Dialysis that I would not be needing them anymore. He told me I had found a donor – and it was him.
“I’m still in shock,” Wolfe said. “I was up all-night crying for joy.”
In fact, Duke had been going through testing for a couple of months and didn’t know he was a match for Byron until this week.
“They actually drove all the way from Vincennes to shock Carla and me with this incredible news,” Wolfe said. “I had been bugging my transplant team to give me some news about the lead, but HIPPA laws prevented them from telling me anything.”
So, donor shows up on the doorstep with life-changing news.
“We’re in the scheduling process for the transplant,” Wolfe said, “but today, September 18, will be a day when my life got a whole lot better.”
That long shot looks like its coming in.
