GIFT OF LOVE, AND LIFE
Wife’s donated kidney leads to transplant for ailing hubby
Vincent Scafuri already had his wife’s heart, so for their first anniversary on Valentine’s Day, she got him something else to express her love — a kidney.
Scafuri suffers from a debilitating kidney disease, and Griselda Espinosa would have gladly given her husband one of her own, but it wasn’t compatible.
Undeterred, Espinosa instead donated one of her kidneys to an organ bank in exchange for a voucher. Scafuri cashed in the voucher for a compatible kidney on Valentine’s Day, just in time for the Brooklyn couple’s first anniversary.
The only thing missing was a big red bow.
“I was just very emotional, you know,” Scafuri said hours before the surgery. “It’s a big situation where somebody has to go and donate their organ, have a serious surgery so that you can have a better quality of life.“
The surgery was underway Wednesday at NYU Langone Tisch Hospital in Manhattan.
Without his wife’s gift, Scafuri, a 53-year-old computer software developer, would have had to wait up to eight years to receive a replacement kidney.
He said he wasn’t sure if he would have survived that long without one.
For Espinosa, 58, the sacrifice was more than worth it. And, she said she couldn’t have picked a better day than Feb. 14 for Scafuri to receive his gift.
“I just love everything that love represents,” said Espinosa, a painter, whose artwork is filled with symbols of love.
“Caring for people, loving them, and believing that everything happens for a reason. We are exactly where we are supposed to be. When I met Vincent in late 1990s, I was not looking to settle down, but here we are 25 years later.”
Espinosa and Scafuri had been dating for nearly 25 years when they decided to tie the knot last year at Brooklyn Borough Hall on a date most associated with love.
“We were putting off getting married for a long time,” Espinosa said. “But last year, I said we are doing it on this day.
“I mean, what better day than the one that represents my philosophy in regards to life, loving and caring for people? My motto is to do something good for someone every day, no matter why.”
Scafuri has been living with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) since he was diagnosed at age 30. Despite maintaining a healthy diet, the progressive nature of the disease caused his kidneys to develop cysts and deteriorate.
Scafuri’s father suffered through the same disease. His kidneys kept swelling until they stopped working altogether. Scarufi’s father was on dialysis for more than 10 years.
In 2003, his father’s kidneys had swelled so much that surgery was needed. He never got to benefit from the organ. Scafuri’s father died during the operation.
Espinosa remembers sitting in a Chinese restaurant long before Scafuri’s kidneys started showing signs of damage and having a conversation about organ donation.
“Surrounded by a bustling crowd, enjoying our meal together. I turned to him and said, ‘You know what? I’ll never let you go through what your father did,” Espinosa recalled. “It’s such a heartbreaking experience. I said, ‘If it ever comes to it, I’ll give you my kidney. Let’s start planning ahead so we’re prepared.’”
But that plan didn’t work. During the screening process, doctors discovered a size mismatch that ruled out Espinosa as a direct donor.
But Espinosa didn’t give up. In December, after Scafuri began dialysis treatment, Espinosa donated her kidney through the National Kidney Registry. In return, Scafuri received a voucher that moved him up on the transplant recipient list.
“I’ll be grateful to her forever,” Scafuri said. “To me, she’s a hero.”