Steve Link 3 of 3

It's been almost ten years since Aurora St. Luke's volunteer Steve Link received a new liver, but he'll never forget how quickly his life changed. "My head was spinning," Steve remembers. "One minute I was fine. The next minute, I was in the hospital for testing. The last test was my liver. That day, my doctor told me, 'you're probably going to need a new liver in 5 years."

"Soon afterwards, I got worse, and now the doctor was telling me I needed a liver transplant right away. It was unreal, like some kind of horrible, bad dream."

Now, Steve reflects on how he received one of the "easy" transplants. "I joke that the liver just slipped right in. It was much easier than what other patients had to go through." Since his procedure, he's not only met the family of his donor, but watched his donor's children grow up into adults. They keep in touch and share photos by e-mail almost every day.

Steve volunteers at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center, and the same caregivers who saved his life are still watching over him in his good health. "Every time I have a fever, a cough, or a headache, the nurses are worried about me. They are always there for the patients and their families."

Since 2004, Steve has participated in the annual U.S. Transplant Games, sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation. The Games are an Olympic-style event for athletes who have received life-saving organ transplants of every type -- kidney, liver, heart, lung, pancreas and bone marrow. Transplant athletes compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in 12 different sports, including track and field, swimming, tennis, basketball, cycling and golf. Steve will be competing in this year's event, to be held in Madison from July 30 - August 4.

Steve is grateful for his second chance. "I've been able to do all the things I put off for years because I didn't have the time," Steve explains. "I saw the sun rise on the east coast and set on the west coast on the same day. I was finally able to go on a Florida vacation. And most importantly, I was able to meet my two grandchildren who were born after my operation. There are still so many things I want to do, and now I can actually do them. I have a whole new appreciation for life."

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