Artist’s neighbor a savior By JOYCE SHELBY
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| Michael Landis (l.) with friend & kidney donor Tom Abbs. |
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| Abbs shows his N.Y. State Gift of Life Medal of Honor for donating kidney. |
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| Drs. Fred Kimmelsteil, James McGinty & anesthesiologist work on Abbs. |
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Even if Michael Landis doesn’t get a single gift on Christmas morning, he will still count his blessings.”I’ve already gotten way more than a Christmas present. I’ve gotten a life present,” said Landis, a visual artist who received a precious kidney transplant last week from an unlikely donor - his upstairs neighbor.
Landis, 41, was diagnosed with Type I diabetes when he was 6. He was hospitalized in February with pneumonia and acute renal failure. Since then he has endured dialysis three times a week to cleanse his blood, each session lasting 3%BD hours.
Then Tom Abbs, 34, an artistic collaborator and his neighbor in the Lefferts Gardens brownstone, came to his rescue.
“Tom kept telling me, ‘We’ve done so many collaborations, let’s consider this our next one,’” Landis said. “From the beginning, when Tom found out he was a match, he was excited.”
“His generosity goes beyond words,” Landis added.
Abbs said Landis’ health problems clearly took a toll.
“Before the kidney failure, Michael used to go to his studio five or six days a week to paint. He did large works,” Abbs said. “Afterwards, he was going once or twice a week and he was forced to do small works - works on paper, as opposed to the big canvases.”
Landis’ older brother underwent tests to see if he could be a donor but he was not a good match. But Abbs, who isn’t related to Landis, turned out to be an almost perfect match.
“That’s rare,” Landis said of the compatibility.
Abbs is a filmmaker and jazz musician who plays bass, tuba, cello and violin. He and Landis met seven years ago when Landis photographed a band Abbs was playing in.
Since then, there have been numerous collaborations. In one, a video project called “Multifarious,” Landis is seen painting to an Abbs composition.
“I would make a mark, stand back and Tom would shoot it on camera,” said Landis, who also helped organize festivals through Jump Arts, a group founded by Abbs.
For the last year, Abbs and his wife, Jennifer Kjos, have shared a brownstone with Landis and his partner, Sarah English. “We’re like a family,” Abbs said.
The surgeons who performed the Dec. 4 transplant at St. Luke’s Hospital in Manhattan, said the procedure was a success. Dr. James McGinty, a laparoscopic surgeon, removed one of Abbs’ kidneys. In an adjoining operating room, Dr. Alan Benvenisty completed the transplant in 3 1/4 hours.
“[Landis] will still have to watch his diabetes and risk factors for blood vessel disease,” Benvenisty said, “but the chance for success is in the 95% range.”
Three days after the surgery, Landis — his cheeks rosy — was able to stand and sit. And Abbs was ready to go home. “It’s great seeing him like this,” Abbs said during a visit with his friend last Thursday.
Abbs’ wife Kjos said she was proud of her husband. “We’ve focused on what’s more important: Life. People,” she said.
To see some of the artists’ collaborations or to make a donation to help cover lost wages and other costs, visit http://jumparts.org/kidney.html.
KIDNEY FACTS
The kidneys are a pair of organs that filter out the body’s waste. They also make a hormone that controls the production of red blood cells.
* Diabetes is a leading cause of kidney failure.
* High blood pressure also causes kidney damage and can lead to their failure.
* People with severe kidney disease receive dialysis until they can get a transplant.
* Nationwide, about 14,000 kidney transplants are performed each year. Just over one-third of transplanted kidneys are from living donors.
* About 3,000 people nationwide die every year while waiting for a kidney transplant.
* Nearly 4,800 men, women and children in the Greater New York metropolitan area were waiting for kidney transplants in 2006.
* After kidney transplants, most recipients have three kidneys because their own usually are left in place.
Sources: Decision: Diabetes and the New York Organ Donor Network
