Meanwhile in San Antonio her half-brother, Gene Overton, was about to get news that would change his life forever - his kidneys were failing.“I wasn’t really scared,” Overton said, “because life is about issues and obstacles and has its ups and downs. The first thing I thought was what do we need to do.”
The failure was genetic, having to do with lupus on his mom’s side of the family and his was not a dire situation, so what Overton did was get put on the kidney waiting list and begin dialysis.
Eventually, he too found his way back to Temple, where he would go three times a week to Temple Kidney Center for dialysis and work with Reese as an assistant coach on the volleyball team.
Under Reese’s leadership, the volleyball team was reaching new heights as she led them to their third consecutive national tournament trip this season along with its first-ever national ranking. And for Reese, things were also going well, giving birth to her first child, Kenneth Alexander, in 2007.
But for her brother, like most people waiting for a kidney, there was yet to be a match found, and seemingly little progress on the transplant list.
Reese decided she was willing to give up the life she was enjoying so that her brother could just continue with life. And she approached Gene about the possibility of being a donor.
“I had thought about it since he first got on the list,” she said. “But at the time I had just started a new job and then I got pregnant.”
With a successful job and a newborn, the issue was put on the back burner until Reese knew her baby would be OK without her for a short period of time. And when Reese felt that time had come earlier this year she again approached Gene about the idea.
“I tried to talk her out of it,” Overton admitted. “She has a job and Kenneth to deal with. It would be a last resort for a family member to do this.”
Reese wasn’t having any of that. Her philosophy in life and coaching is to make a difference in the lives around her, and to teach her players to do the same. To Reese, helping develop women with strong character is as important as building a team with a strong record. And for her, actions speak louder than words.
So Reese got her blood drawn to be tested for a potential match. In about a week’s time, the test showed she was a match and she informed her brother.
“She had said something about it,” Overton recalled. “It hadn’t really hit me what she did because it happened during the (volleyball) season, and sometimes people will say things and don’t really mean it.”
Reese meant it. And the next thing on her list was to go down to the Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio to make sure she had two strong working kidneys and was a solid match.
When it was determined she was, they needed to set a date. With Overton functioning fine with dialysis and volleyball season still in progress, the date was set for Dec. 15, after TC was out for the semester.
The surgery team was led by Dr. Francis Wright for Gene, and Dr. Sammy Vick for Mary, who were also the surgeons who performed the kidney transplant for former San Antonio Spurs guard Sean Elliot.
The surgery went off without a hitch as Overton’s body seemed to accept the new kidney right away, and the two were both out of the hospital and back home on Monday. But for both, the surgery itself may have been the easiest part. The healing process will keep them both fairly inactive for months, something not fun for two very active and athletic siblings.
“Walking is a workout at the moment,” Overton said. “They told me it would be a couple of months before I got back on my feet. But she has it worse than I do. ”
Reese said she experiences major discomfort just lying down, and said the discomfort now is worse than when she gave birth.
But in the end, the pain was well worth it for the reward.
“It felt great,” she said of being able to donate. “As soon as I found out I was a match, I knew it was going to happen. A lot of people say it’s a wonderful gift. For me it was a no-brainer. I know he’d do the same for me.”
