After kidney failure, transplant needed
Story by Craig Nyhus, Lone Star Outdoor News
One of the world’s top sellers of high-end shotguns, Ian Harrison, now is looking to make the ultimate deal — not for profit but for his health.
He needs a kidney.
Harrison, who managed the Beretta Gallery in Dallas from 2009 to 2014, then moved to New York City where he serves as the company’s director of premium guns and Trident Lodges, helped others from around the world gear up for their hunting adventures.
Harrison started the program where conservation groups hold fundraising events at the Dallas store, beginning with the Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation’s Wild Game Supper. He also has been instrumental in developing the Trident Lodge program at Beretta, recognizing top destinations around the world, which he still manages.
Now, he’s the one asking for help.
“I had a cousin who we buried at 34,” Harrison said. “His sister gave her bone marrow for him. When I would fly in and visit him, the only thing he said about what was about to happen was that I had to make sure his boys didn’t turn into sissies and to make sure they know how to fish and hunt.
“Done,” was all Harrison replied.
Years later, at age 50, Harrison was rushed to the hospital with kidney failure.
Months earlier, after hiking up a logging road in Vermont, he became really tired.
“I thought I was just out of shape,” he said. “Later I went to the doctor and it started from there.”
“I went to a pretty dark place for a couple of days,” he said.
But when he needed her the most, his wife, Diane, reminded him this was the “sickness” in the “sickness and health” of their wedding vows, saying ”We will sort it out.”
Harrison currently undergoes dialysis three days each week for four hours, all while continuing to work and travel.
On June 21, he received dialysis at 5:30a.m., headed to a New York City heliport to get to the airport for a trip to Atlanta.
“I feel pretty decent.” Harrison said. “The dialysis just tires you out, beats you up. I can set my computer on the chair and work while getting it, and I’m exhausted for a few hours after each treatment. Thankfully, I don’t dig holes for a living.”
The emotional effect of the treatments is something quite different.
“It’s a tough thing, you see a lot of people in the room who have been on it for years who aren’t eligible for a transplant,” he said.
The head renal physician at NYU provided his options: Continue on dialysis the rest of his life; go off of dialysis, expecting his kidneys to last less than one year; or get a kidney transplant.
Harrison chose the transplant option, took a barrage of tests, and was medically cleared for a transplant in record time, “bullying my way through the red tape,” he said.
Transplants don’t come easily, though, and there are only two ways to get them. One is from a dead person who has donated his organs, but the waiting list for such a donor is three to five years. The other option is a live donor.
“If I find one of those I can be up and running by the end of the year,” Harrison said.
Some relatives and good friends have been tested but aren’t a match.
“One friend of mine called me a few weeks ago when I was in Italy and told me, ‘I’m not gonna let you die, mate,’” Harrison said. “I could barely contain my emotions. My heart is now full no matter the outcome.”
So far, six donors have been tested.
“They are really careful about who they pick to make sure your body can handle it,” Harrison said.
The key is to get as many willing donors tested as possible to find one who is compatible.
“The doctors tell me the transplant team only takes a live donor if it is medically 100-percent safe for the donor,” Harrison said. “So there it is. I need a kidney and I’m asking for help — it’s a tough thing for a guy to ask for help.”
To donate:
For those interested, call the NYU Transplant Living Donor Program at (212) 263-3621.
You will need to tell them you are calling for Ian Harrison and provide his birthdate, April 13, 1969. If you have questions for Ian before calling, email him at iharrison@berettausa.com.
