(upbeat music) Hi everyone, Steve Adubato.

Yes, this is "One-on-One" but it's two of us.

My colleague Jacqui Tricarico, a senior correspondent with us, and also someone who does some great interviews that you see on "One-on-One" as well as our sister series "Remember Them" that Jacqui's the executive producer.

Hey Jacqui set this up.

You and I are at the annual New Jersey Sharing Network 5K Celebration of Life event.

Talk about that and the interview for people to see in just a couple of seconds.

- Steve, this past June, you and I had a chance to attend yet again the New Jersey Sharing Network's 5K Celebration of Life in New Providence, New Jersey.

This was their 15th year, 15 years putting on this event.

It is a huge event raising so much money for organ and tissue donation in the state of New Jersey.

You know, when we talk about the numbers, we always like to just bring it back to the fact that there are over 4,000 people in New Jersey alone waiting for a lifesaving organ and also tissue that's needed all throughout the state.

So this is a great opportunity to hear some of those stories, those personal stories of the impact that organ and tissue donation has on so many people.

- And he, in this interview I talked with Dr.

Patrick Buddle, who's the chairman of the Governing Board of Trustees, New Jersey Sharing Network and also a living kidney donor.

What did you take away from this interview?

'Cause this is very personal for the doctor.

- Personal in so many different ways for him.

You know, he had a mentor and a friend, a colleague of his, Dr.

Andy, that was very ill and needed a new kidney.

And Dr.

Buddle, he even admits even as a physician, he didn't understand how great the need was for organ and tissue donation, but he decided to give a kidney to Dr.

Andy and save his life and gave him a lot more years of living and to be able to see his kids and grandkids for many more years after that.

But there's another story you'll hear during this interview, Steve, where Dr.

Buddle talks about another connection to organ and tissue donation that really brought his son and his daughter-in-law together.

- Did they meet at the race?

Did they meet at the 5K?

- No, but you'll hear Dr.

Buddle's story.

It's such an incredible, incredible story.

- Now I remember... - You have to listen.

You have to listen.

It's an incredible story.

And really he says it was heavenly intervention and someone who passed away that gave the gift of life kind of stepped in he said to make sure that his son and his daughter-in-law met that one day.

- You know, sometimes when you do a lot of interviews, they have to come back to you and you gotta think through.

It hit me as soon as Jacqui said it.

No, that's not where they met, Steve.

The story is much more powerful than simply meeting at the 5K, which is significant enough.

It is powerful, poignant, and significant for Jacqui, myself, and our entire team.

Let's check out that conversation.

- Uplifting music.

- We're here at the New Jersey Sharing Network 5K.

This is the 15th anniversary.

We're here with Dr.

Patrick Buddle, who is a living kidney donor.

Chair of the Governing Board of Trustees New Jersey Sharing Network.

Doctor, great to have you with us today.

- Yeah, thanks for having me, Steve.

- Talk to us about your connection to this great event.

- Well, back in 2002, a colleague and a friend of mine, another physician at the hospital, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, unfortunately, he ended up with the end stage, or kidney disease.

So as time went on, he eventually ended up on dialysis, and being a good friend that he was, one day at the hospital, I went to visit him, and we were talking how he was doing and stuff like that.

So just by chance, I asked him what blood type he was, and he said, B-positive.

And I said, I'm pretty much the same type, and if you need a kidney, I'd be willing to step up, and donate that kidney to you.

- You just did it?

- Yeah.

- Had you thought about it before?

- I had, not... Not in the sense of giving a donation like that, but obviously I talked to Nancy, my wife, she, who was very supportive.

- You and Nancy been married for how many?

40 years?

- Just 40 years in July.

- Congratulations.

- Thank you.

- So you talked to Nancy about it, and?

- Yeah.

And she knew Andy, Dr.

Andy Swaroop.

Great guy, was my mentor when I started my practice.

So initially, he didn't, he rejected the idea, he didn't want me to do it.

But I think dialysis eventually got the best of him.

And he said, "If you would do that, that would be tremendous."

So we actually had the surgery done in December when my practice was a little bit slower, because of the holidays.

We had it done at Saint Barnabas with Dr.

Geffner and Dr.

Mulgaonkar, who's a great, great person.

He is unbelievable.

They took good care of me.

So I knew I was in good hands.

- Stuart Geffner, by the way, actually did, my wife donated her kidney.

- Really?

- And it was Dr.

Geffner.

- Yeah.

- It's a small world, right?

- So he practiced on me after, and then he did your wife.

(Steve laughing) - So hold on.

As a physician, I'm curious about this.

How aware were you of the need?

'Cause as we speak here, as we do this, we've been doing this for several years.

This is the 15th anniversary of the 5K here at the Sharing Network.

I keep finding more and more people who weren't aware of the need that there are 4,000 people in New Jersey waiting.

Were you aware as a physician?

- No, I was not.

And because they really don't, as a physician, they don't teach that stuff in medical school.

So it was just by chance that Andy got sick and was, you know, I donated the kidney, and then I started finding out all the statistics about it.

- [Steve] Right.

- After the donation, Carolyn Welsh was actually the Hospital Services Manager, - The CEO.

- Yeah, now she's the CEO and President of the organization.

- [Steve] She was there at the time at Jersey Shore?

- Yeah, she was the Hospital Services Manager, and since then, she's worked herself up to the President and CEO.

But after the donation, she asked me to come on the Organ Donor Council for the hospital.

And that's when I saw the statistics, and that's when I knew there was a need to be more of an advocate for donation.

- So, your friend, Dr.

Andy?

- Yeah.

- He lived for 13 years?

- Yeah, 12 to 13 years, yeah.

- You gave that gift.

- Yeah.

- And as I understand it, he was able to see his children get married, see his grandchildren, who were born.

- Right.

- During that time.

- Yeah.

- When you look back on it, and also the involvement that you've had with the Sharing Network, what message would you share with everybody else right now who hears about it?

They know they can go online.

You go on the website right now as we're talking about this.

You know, your license, that's where you can do it easily.

You can go on the website.

What would you say to everybody else who thinks about it but isn't committed to doing it yet, 'cause they don't know enough?

- Yeah, to tell you the truth, I think it was more of an opportunity for me, 'cause I was the healthy one, in the, - Sure.

- Hand of, he was the sick one.

I was healthy enough to give a kidney, and be great afterwards.

So I was the fortunate one to actually be able to do that for him.

- You feel that way?

- Yeah.

- That you were the fortunate one.

- Yeah.

- How's it affected your life physically?

'Cause you just, I gotta say this, doctor, you're just bragging to me that you did, that what was the race you ran?

Like you're smiling, 'cause you showed me the time, under a minute.

What was it?

You had to do what?

- Called the Murph.

- The Murph, which involves a mile what?

- A mile run.

- 100 pullups.

- 200 pushups.

- 200 pushups.

- 300 squats, and another mile, yeah.

But, - And you're physically strong enough to do it.

- Yeah.

So you can give a kidney and still live a great life.

- More than a great life.

I mean, quality of life, working out all the time.

The other thing that's fascinating is, there's a family connection for you with the 5K.

- [Patrick] Yeah.

- What is it?

- Well, being on the Organ Donor Council at the hospital, I had the opportunity and the great experience of meeting a lot of donor families when they came in.

One of the donor families, the Buckiewicz family, unfortunately their son was involved in a car accident.

He's a young man in his 20s, just got accepted to law school.

When they came into the hospital, I met Amy, his sister.

I met Jane, his mother, and I met the father Bruce, eventually later on.

Excuse me, this is a great story.

But Amy eventually became a great spokesman for the Sharing Network.

- [Steve] Right.

- She wanted to tell Danny's story, and how he was a hero and donated his organs and saved many lives.

And it's a great story.

So after the 5K up here, Amy has the Buckiewicz Team, they all went back to Monmouth County.

- That's Team Buck.

- Correct, yep.

They all went back to Monmouth County.

They went to the local watering hole, the Parker House.

- We know it well.

- Yeah.

(Steve laughing) And fortunately my son was one of the bartenders there that day when they went back there with her team.

So he's wearing one of these green bracelets.

- Yeah, I got one too.

- So Amy asked him, "Why are you wearing the green bracelet from the Sharing Network?"

And he says, "Well, my father works with the Sharing Network."

And she goes, "Who is your father?"

And he says, "Dr.

Buddle."

Of course, she said, "I know your father very well."

And they kept talking, they kept talking, they kept talking.

And in 2019, they got married.

- Your son?

- Yes.

- [Steve] And, - [Patrick] Amy.

- [Steve] Amy.

- [Patrick] From the Buckiewicz family.

Danny's sister.

Yeah.

- What are the odds?

- Well, a lot of people call it coincidence.

I don't think so.

I think it was a match made in heaven, so.

And from that reunion that they had at the Parker House, we have two of our five grandchildren are Vinnie and Amy's.

- [Steve] Wow.

- And everybody lives in Manasquan.

- Talk about a gift.

- It is a gift.

- It is a gift.

- See, I mean, you can't, you really can't explain it.

- No, you can't.

- You think about it all the time.

But like I said, it had to be a match made in heaven.

We're so grateful and blessed to have Amy and the Buckiewicz family in our lives.

And Jane's actually a member of the board as well.

I think you've interviewed her before.

- Yeah, absolutely.

- Obviously, out of that tragedy came all this good stuff.

And it's just, you can't make it up.

- Well, it's difficult and powerful, and important story to tell.

And it's more than a story.

It's about people's lives.

- [Patrick] Right.

- And giving that gift.

I wanna thank you, doctor, we appreciate it.

- Now, on behalf of the Sharing Network, I know you're a great advocate for us and I really want to thank you guys and all your staff for doing every year, you do this with us.

And we're very grateful for what you do.

- It's our honor.

Thank you, doctor.

- Thank you.

Appreciate it.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by Congress Hall.

A Cape Resorts property.

Valley Bank.

New Jersey’s Clean Energy program.

EJI, Excellence in Medicine Awards.

A New Jersey health foundation program.

Delta Dental of New Jersey.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

The North Ward Center.

The Turrell Fund, a foundation serving children.

And by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Promotional support provided by New Jersey Monthly.

And by NJ.Com.

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