Just before Christmas last year, Jeremy and Heidi Gregoire called Jeff and Michele Ficek to say they were stopping by with freshly baked cookies.
Neither Jeff nor Michele thought too much about it. The couples, along with others who regularly golf at the Moorhead Country Club and get together for birthdays and lunches, often visited.
Cookies were not the main gift. Jeremy handed Jeff a bag with a can of kidney beans. Jeff recalls being a little slow on the meaning but Michele became emotional right away.
The kidney beans were an announcement for the upcoming kidney transplant Jan. 26 at the Sanford Transplant Center. Jeremy, known by everyone as Bear, was a match for a living donor donation to Jeff.
Others in their circle of Thursday men’s day golfing buddies had tested to become a donor. Jeremy was the match.
“It’s the way I was raised,” the Dilworth native and co-owner of Bert’s Truck Equipment in Moorhead said. “My mom was always making food for people and my dad is an active Dilworth Lion and does other volunteer things.
“When I found out Jeff needed a kidney I called to find out about the process. I never felt scared although I wondered a little bit if I was crazy. My family supported me.
“The best thing is seeing Jeff’s gentle smile again, his warm brown eyes. The surgery was life-changing for him but I didn’t even lose any weight,” he added with a big grin.
As for Jeff, he says he has more pep in his step. “When I golf I like to walk. I couldn’t do it anymore. My legs were sore and I had cramps. I was pretty grumpy. Needing a kidney was on my mind constantly. I had an uncertain future until the transplant,” Jeff said.
Jeff said he is a big “quality of life guy. I was still able to do lots of things and it wasn’t the end of the world. But now,” he said pausing, “I am a lucky guy.”
Jeff is now the proud host to three kidneys. “The doctor said Bear’s was big and healthy.” The transplant doctor was Bhargav Mistry, MD, at Sanford. He, along with nephrologists Teresa Levitski, MD, and Gautam Phadke, MD, led the team that made the entire experience a good one. “Everybody did everything well,” Jeremy said. “They’re good people.”
While Jeff and Jeremy, Michele and Heidi and their families are all happy with the outcome for Jeff, the folks at the Moorhead Country Club wanted to mark this life event with something special.
A secret campaign was underway to fund a permanent marker on the course. Scott Petry at Andy Lake Woodworks in Glyndon was commissioned to create a statue of a golfing bear with a golf bag. Scott was happy to oblige. http://www.andylakewoodworks.com/
Jeremy didn’t have a clue. On May 26 the group of friends was golfing. Jeremy said he saw his three boys running up to him on the fairway. They said, “Dad, you gotta follow us.” They were excited.
They led him, and an amazing number of people who seemed to materialize from everywhere, to the statue. Darren Donlop from the FM Chamber of Commerce was the master of ceremonies. He said Jeremy helped their group of friends and the members of the Moorhead Country Club “realize the meaning of life, the meaning of giving. (A video of the event is on the YouTube Channel, “The Bear Sculpture HD.)
The statue is a monument to life.
