‘I proved them wrong,’ says grateful organ recipient

The beeper sounded during Christmas Eve dinner in 2002. This was before cellphones were in widespread use. Ed Tomney knew that noise could mean only one thing. The pancreas he so desperately needed was available. Tomney, then in his mid-40s, underwent transplant surgery on Christmas Day

“It’s what you hope for, but what scares you is the unknown,” he said. “(Doctors) basically told me the best prognosis was living 10 to 12 more years. I proved them wrong.”

He sure did. Twenty years later, the 64-year-old Atlantic Highlands resident is still going. The transplant’s ripple effect is long: Tomney’s eldest daughter, Brittany Davidson, was inspired to become a doctor. “Having been on the patient side of things, watching my dad experience the health-care system has made me a more compassionate physician,” Davidson said.

And all these years later, Tomney remains in touch with the mother of his organ donor – a 17-year-old who died in a car accident.

“I’m a very lucky, very grateful man,” he said.

Tomney was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 5. It was a different world then. Every morning, his insulin needles had to be boiled. Blood-sugar measurements were taken through urinalysis. Upkeep was hard. By age 40, a numbness known as neuropathy crept into his fingers and toes. His feet suffered microfractures, necessitating weird shoes the size of footballs. His vision nosedived.

A pancreas transplant was his only chance. The pancreas came from Jason Rowcliffe, a teenager from New York who died in a car crash. Tomney had no idea who his donor was at the time. Several months after the surgery, he received a letter from Rowcliffe’s mother.

“It read, ‘Dear pancreas recipient, I want to tell you about my son Jason,’ ” he recalled. “There was a picture of him. He was going to culinary school. Sounded like a great kid. She said, ‘I hope you cherish that.’ And you know, I started crying.”

“Forward-thinking donors give us a second chance at life,” Tomney said. “Without them, the world would be a sadder place.”

Tomney’s hurdles did not end on Christmas Day 2022. But the new pancreas allowed him to work 18 more years as an X-ray technician at various shorearea hospitals before retiring. He was able to walk both of his daughters down the aisle on their wedding days. He’s the proud grandfather of five, and the devoted partner of June Doussiotis, who’s been his rock.

Perhaps the most profound lesson from it all occurs each Christmas, when Tomney emails or texts Jason Rowcliffe’s mother to express thanks. Ed Tomney was granted another 7,400 days and counting, and each year, he makes the same point to a still-grieving mother: “Jason is my hero.”