Sedalia Democrat

Saturday, September 15, 2018 | 1A

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Sedalia Democrat Saturday, September 15, 2018

Fire service, football

and tweets vs. truth
Short takes
and random
thoughts:
• While it
is reassuring
that the Pettis
County Fire
Department
is back on
the job, a few
points should Bob Satnan
not be lost in Contributing Columnist
the shuffle. It
was good to
see, as the Democrat’s Nuria Martinez-
Keel reported, that County Fire Chief
Mike Harding had contacted the Seda-
lia Fire Department days in advance of
county firefighters’ walkout to discuss
coverage options; failure to do so would
have been irresponsible. It also was
nice to see how much support was of-
fered by neighboring fire districts; the
dedication to help keep Pettis County
residents safe should be greatly appre-
ciated. Going forward, answers need to
be provided concerning former Board
President Harold Ream’s contention
that a recent audit of the department’s
finances “revealed some disturbing
results, and no action has been taken
to correct the issues found in the audit.”
Pettis County residents covered by the
fire district deserve to know if Ream’s
accusations hold water, and if they do
how those issues will be remedied.
• There is nothing less interesting
than hearing someone drone on about
their fantasy football team. Even people
playing in your league don’t want to
listen to soliloquies about your lack of
depth at running back. While I won’t
bore you all with the weekly details, I
will share that our Sedalia Democrat
league has been renamed the Travis
McMullen Memorial Bash, in honor of
one of the charter members. Travis al-
ways fielded a competitive team and his
matchup breakdowns heading into the
playoffs were always some of his best
writing.
• It seems like every weekend, some-
one somewhere in the county is lighting
off fireworks. As a pet owner, I urge you
to knock it off. The Fourth of July is bad
enough, but extending that trauma on
animals into September is unnecessary
and cruel.
• It would be easy to write something
every week about President Donald
Trump and his administration, but I
have generally avoided doing so. I have
chimed in on his attacks on the legiti-
mate press because I am a lifelong jour-
nalist – I published my first newspaper
in third grade – and I won’t sit quietly
as he blatantly lies about professionals
who I respect for their commitment to
the truth. People who support Trump
without question won’t be swayed by
anything his critics write or say. How-
ever, Trump’s Thursday comments deny-
ing the death toll in Puerto Rico after a
pair of hurricanes hit the U.S. territory
are worse than his standard procedures
of deflection, self-aggrandizement and
blame-shifting. An independent study
conducted by the Milken Institute for
Public Health at George Washington
University noted while the “observed
mortality” caused by the storms was
reported as 64 deaths, the total number
of deaths related to the hurricanes is
closer to 3,000 because of the extend-
ed period without electricity, adequate
communications, fuel, safe food and wa-
ter and other factors. Sheri Fink of The
New York Times reported that electricity
was not fully restored to the island until
in late August, 11 months after Hurri-
cane Maria struck. While Trump cannot
be blamed for the infrastructure issues
that existed in Puerto Rico before the
storms, the federal response was inad-
equate, and it cost lives. No amount of
tweeting will change that.
Bob Satnan is the Communications
Director for Sedalia School District
200.
Transplant recipient
thankful for 30 years
David Derden, of Sedalia, stands in his
home recently looking at a Sedalia Democrat
article from 1989. Derden received a liver transplant 30 years
ago Sept. 27. The Democrat wrote about his transplant and recovery.
Derden is one of the longest living transplant recipients in MIssouri.
PHOTOS BY FAITH BEMISS | DEMOCRAT
By Faith Bemiss
fbemiss@sedaliademocrat.com
Three decades later, Sedalian
David Derden, a liver transplant re-
cipient, is still thankful for the gift
of life and a second chance.
Derden received a liver trans-
plant Sept. 27, 1988, and the Sedalia
Democrat chronicled his progress
in the Oct. 20 edition of the paper
that same year. A follow-up article
was written by June Rae Wood a
year later in celebration of his one-
year anniversary.
According to the October article,
Derden was the first Sedalian to re-
ceive a liver transplant from Barnes
Hospital, now Barnes Jewish, in St.
Louis. He is one of Barnes’ lon-
gest living transplant recipients.
Derden has been placed into the
international Quarter Century Club
Transplant Group noting that he
has survived more than 25 years.
Derden said recently from his
home that two circumstances con-
tributed to him needing a trans-
plant.
“They found out that I had a
hereditary disease called alpha-one
antitrysin (deficiency),” he said.
“It’s relatively rare, but it attacks the
lungs or the liver, and sometimes
both. It was attacking my liver.”
Derden also had an unrelated
surgery at Bothwell Regional
Health Center and due to a transfu-
sion, he contracted Hepatitis C.
“As the surgeon put it, when he
did the surgery in May (1988), my
liver was distressed,” Derden said.
“He did a biopsy and that’s when
they discovered the alpha-one
antitrysin deficiency. Normally I
would fight off the Hepatitis C and
it would go into remission. But with
my liver already compromised, I
went downhill very rapidly.”
By early June he was placed
on the transplant list, and within
months he received a new liver at
Since receiving his liver transplants in the late 1980s, Derden has par-
ticipated in the Transplant Games of America in both 2014 and 2018. The
games are multi-sport events for transplant patients. Derden has received
three medals, all for bowling.
The first article about Derden’s journey with a liver
transplant was written by Ellen Hosafros and published
in the Sedalia Democrat on Oct. 20, 1988. The
surgery was performed at Barnes
Hospital in St. Louis.
David Derden and his wife Kandy Derden pose for a photo that was taken at
the 2014 Transplant Games of America in Houston, Texas. The photo is one of
many transplant related keepsakes that Derden has collected over the years.
Barnes. He added that all the re- liver, the Hepatic Artery, it basically
cipients who had transplants before scarred over,” he said. “They knew
him have died. In fact, Derden, a at that point the only way to fix it
Baptist minister, had a brush with would be to re-transplant.”
death again when his new liver Derden received his third liver
began to fail 18 years later. Jan. 24, 2009, and he noted the last
“Apparently my meds were just 30 years has been an “interesting
getting to the point where they journey.”
were no longer working well,” he “You have your good days and
said. “I started going downhill and your bad days,” Derden said. “You
I think it was year 19 they put me know that you’ve received a gift,
back on the transplant list. I got the you shouldn’t be around. You tend
second liver literally barely in time.” to look at life a little bit different.
The surgeons told his wife, You try to enjoy life as much as you
Kandy, that he had approximately can, but you just realize that your
48 hours to live when he received immune system isn’t quite where it
should be, so you’ll get sick a little
the second liver on Aug. 31,
2008. Unfortunately, due to a medi- bit more often.”
cation error, his body began reject- Since he was a transplant survi-
ing the second liver. While in the vor, Derden and his wife decided
hospital to combat the rejection, he to attend the Transplant Games of
picked up an infection. Both condi- America. Derden competed in the
tions worked against the second 2014 games hosted in Houston,
liver and Derden found he needed Texas, and the 2018 games hosted
yet another transplant. in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“One of the main arteries to the The games are competitive,
multi-sport events that highlight
not only the recipients but the do-
nors. This year Derden competed in
bowling, swimming and volleyball.
He received two medals in 2014
and one in 2018, all for bowling.
He noted what he finds so
intriguing at the games is how the
donor families are honored.
“When you come into the sta-
dium it's kind of like the Olympics,
you march in by team,” Derden
said. “Then the last two groups that
march in is the Quarter Century
Club and the donor families. This
is where they’ve had a loved one, a
mom or dad or child, that has died
and they have donated the organs.”
Derden said he doesn’t know his
donor families but hopes to some-
day meet or communicate with
them. He also expressed the impor-
tance of organ donations.
See DAVID | Page 4D