Local athletes are medalsome indeed

By Elizabeth Stieber
Times Staff Writer

Although they first met just a few weeks ago, Suzanne Ahmie and Lisa Bonner have a lot in common.
The two Northeast Philadelphia women were once avid competitive swimmers at local Catholic high schools.
They needed organ transplants and received those organs from their brothers — what’s more, both brothers are named Bob.
And both are success stories, not because they won multiple medals at this year’s U.S. Transplant Games, but because they and the other athletes who participated are here today.
"I feel everybody’s a winner because they were there and able to do this," Ahmie said.
Ahmie, of Pennypack, and Bonner, of Morrell Park, competed in the swimming events for Team Philadelphia at the 2004 U.S. Transplant Games, held July 27 to Aug. 1 at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Ahmie, 45, won two gold medals in the medley and freestyle relays, a gold in the 50-meter freestyle, a silver in the 100-meter freestyle and a bronze in the 50-meter backstroke.
Bonner, 31, won gold medals in the 100-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle, medley relay and freestyle relay events.
Team Philadelphia is organized by Gift of Life Donor Program, the region’s non-profit organ and tissue donor program.
The U.S. Transplant Games are held every two years by the National Kidney Foundation. It is open to anyone who has received a life-saving organ transplant or bone-marrow transplant. Fifty teams competed in this year’s games.
Ahmie was diagnosed at age 15 with polycystic kidney disease, which causes cysts on the kidneys and progresses slowly.
Ahmie always knew she would need an organ transplant one day. In 1997, her doctor told her to start looking for a donor. Her three brothers and sister agreed to be tested, and each of the four was a match.
Two years ago, she finally had the transplant. Her oldest brother, Carl Sosna, agreed to be a donor. However, during an exam prior to the operation, doctors discovered he had prostate cancer.
Ahmie now believes it was a blessing that she asked him because doctors otherwise would not have caught his disease so early. Her second oldest brother, Bob Sosna, took Carl’s place as the donor.
Both are doing well today.
Bonner was diagnosed three years ago with Budd-Chiari syndrome, a rare disease that causes clotting of the hepatic vein — the vein that leaves the liver. It caused her abdomen to fill with fluid.
Of her four siblings, Bonner’s younger brother, Bob, was the closest blood type and body type match. Like his sister, Bob was a co-captain of Archbishop Ryan High School’s swimming team.
In June 2003, doctors transplanted 60 percent of Bob’s liver to Lisa, and both have since fully recovered.
A few months ago, Ahmie and Bonner learned about the Transplant Olympics while surfing the Web. They both were particularly interested in the swimming category.
Ahmie was a member of the St. Hubert High School swimming team, and swam competitively since childhood. Bonner, meanwhile, swam in college after high school.
Neither had practiced in a long time.
Still, Ahmie said: "I never thought twice about joining. The games gave me incentive to do something."
Ahmie trained a few times a week at the Aquatic and Fitness Center pool in Academy Gardens.
"It felt really good," Ahmie recalled of getting back into the water. "You never lose that feeling to swim. It came back pretty quickly."
Bonner joined the Delaware Valley Masters Swim Team, which practices at Germantown Academy.
"In the beginning, it felt a little weird" adjusting to swimming again, particularly in the abdominal area where her surgery took place, Bonner said.
"After the first couple practices, a lot of it came back," she recalled. "I definitely felt better after each practice.
Ahmie’s brother Bob joined her husband, Stephen, daughters Andrea and Heather, and Heather’s boyfriend Kerry Greenstein in cheering her on at the games.
Bonner’s brother and donor Bob supported her at the games.
"It was great to hang out with my sister," Bob Bonner said, who fondly referred to her as his "liver twin."
Ahmie and Bonner met at the games and swam together in the relays.
Ahmie even found pins for Lisa and Bob Bonner. The pins represent a half-circle — Bob wore the half that read "I gave the gift of life," and Lisa wore the half that read "I received the gift of life."
Ahmie and her brother wore the same pins.
"That really meant a lot to me and my brother," Lisa said.
Theirs were only two of countless stories. Some athletes recovered fully and raised families, while others had multiple surgeries.
"It’s so inspiring," Ahmie said.
The Bonner siblings also noticed that there were a large number of donors there, but donors are not allowed to compete. They and many others at the games think the donors are just as important and should participate in the Transplant Olympics.
Bob Bonner, who attended a conference for donors, said the possibility of including them was discussed and could happen at future U.S. Transplant Games. ••
For more information on organ and tissue donation, call the Gift of Life Donor Program at 1-800-DONORS-1 or visit its Web site www.donors1.org
Reporter Elizabeth Stieber can be reached at 215-354-3036 or estieber@phillynews.com