2000 U.S. Transplant Games Profiles
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Men and Women Aged 20-50

Ragnar Arnesen, 30, has always tried to surmount diabetes from early childhood. From the age of 10, he ran long distance races, cycled competitively and surfed whenever he got the chance. But diabetes gradually destroyed his kidneys, and at age 19, he received a live transplant from his father Eric, a professional photographer. Several years later, that transplant failed.  Ragnar went on the national waiting list for a combination kidney-pancreas transplant that would give him kidney function while also ending his diabetes. That transplant came three years ago, and Ragnar returned to bicycle racing, regular surfing near his Manhattan Beach home and competing in triathlons. He will compete in cycling, track and field and volleyball at the Transplant Games.

Nelson Freytes, 26, had no idea until it was over that he had even received a liver transplant. Two years ago, when a longtime problem with hyperthyroidism began flaring up frequently at age 24, a doctor prescribed medication for the condition - and he was suddenly comatose. Immediately after he lost consciousness, doctors determined Nelson would need a liver transplant within 12 hours or he would die. "Like magic," he says, "the University of California at Irvine found me one." Nelson has been healthy ever since, and will compete in racquetball and basketball at the Transplant Games.

Less than three years ago, Patti Haap, 48, collapsed in full cardiac arrest while at work. She remembers nothing about the 17 days she spent in a cardiac care unit. But doctors saved her life and put her on heart defibrillator and on the heart transplant waiting list. On Dec. 21, 1998, she got an early Christmas present when she was paged and swiftly taken for a heart transplant at UCLA Medical Center, receiving the heart of a 17-year-old girl from Arizona. Within days, she was walking the halls, feeling healthier than she had in years. Soon she resumed playing golf and line dancing. Patti, will play golf in the Transplant Games.

If there were a medal for the world's most honored transplant athlete, Tom Henry, 43, would probably win it. Since 1994, he's won 21 medals - including 11 golds - at both the U.S. Games and the World Transplant Games. Born in Ventura in 1957, Tom grew up in Ojai and served four years on the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Enterprise before becoming a computer consultant. He was diagnosed at age 32 with polycystic kidney disease, a progressive condition that gradually destroys kidney function. Four years later, he lost all kidney function and spent a year on dialysis before receiving a kidney transplant in 1994. He won three gold medals in the Games later that year and will compete in swimming, track and field and volleyball in this year's Games. Tom is the defending national champion in his age group in the shot put, softball throw and high jump. He lives in Ventura with his wife Julie and son Branden.

Jim Hines, 37, was in his early 20s when serious liver disease struck him in 1988. It was at first mis-diagnosed as myolognious leukemia, but was in fact a rare disease that caused his liver to become saturated with copper contained in various common foods. His condition, hepato-lenticular degeneration, can lead to brain damage. Two years after the misdiagnosis, Jim's doctor admitted he had mixed up some lab results and Jim began seeing liver specialists. They were able to treat his disease for nine years. Eventually Jim needed a transplant to save his life. He waited 9 ½ months for the transplant, but four days after the operation, he suffered a blood clot in the portal vein that had to be removed, necessitating another transplant. That operation came six days later. After months of rehabilitating the muscles that had atrophied before his two transplants, Jim is ready to compete. He's participating in the cycling and track and field events at the Games.

Craig Hobart, 32, is a computer technician who received his new living non-related kidney from his adopted brother in 1997. He attended his first Transplant Games event in 1998, not knowing what to expect. Says Craig, "The Games changed my life. I met people who weren't transplant patients. They were athletes with transplants." Craig has since kept in regular contact with the other members of Team Southern California, who he says motivate one another to train for the World Transplant Games.

Born with cystic fibrosis in 1953, Jeff Horton, 46, was quickly misdiagnosed. He was told he had asthma and allergies. He was also told he would never have children of his own. Doctors were wrong on all those counts. But by 42, Jeff was hospitalized, so weak and out of breath he could barely walk across a room. Two years later, in 1996, he was at work, his oxygen tank beside him, when the long-awaited call came and sheriff's deputies flew him hastily to Burbank for a lung transplant at USC Medical Center. "My first thought when I work up was that I have a new best friend, with the sadness that I'd never meet him or her," he says. Within 36 hours he was breathing on his own for the first time in years. Now, when he's not helping other cystic fibrosis patients, he golfs, water skis, bowls and kayaks. He ran two 5K runs, finishing both. "I didn't win, but I finished and that was winning in my mind." So is his participation in the Transplant Games, where Jeff will run another 5K, bowl and play golf.

Lawndale lawyer/businessman Chris Hutchinson, 48, had known for more than 15 years that his kidneys filtering fewer and fewer toxins from his blood and that he might eventually need a transplant. The crisis came last summer and his wife Christine immediately volunteers to donate. But the comprehensive workup given to all prospective live kidney donors revealed she was an undetected diabetic and would need both her kidneys as long as they worked. Instantly, Chris' sister Kathryn stepped in and gave Chris one of her healthy kidneys. Coincidentally, Chris' son Adam has also received a kidney transplant, after an unrelated disease destroyed his kidneys. Chris looks forward to meeting hundreds of his fellow recipients and their donors and families. He will compete in singles and doubles racquetball at his first Games.

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