Faces of the Games
MARTHA BLACK, 59
Portland, Maine
As she suffered through kidney failure, a transplant and a long recovery, Martha Black, 59, was unable to envision a time when she’d be the first out the door for a day of shopping or a 20-mile bike ride. Fatigued and feeling ill as she struggled though dialysis treatments, one idea gave her hope -- competing in the National Kidney Foundation Transplant Games. “After learning about them at the dialysis center,” she recalls, “the Transplant Games became my focus. I was determined to get a new kidney, build up my physical strength to compete in the Games.”
In 1999, a kidney became available and Martha underwent transplant surgery. Single, with little family nearby, Martha’s friends rallied in her support, caring for her in their homes while she regained her strength. After spending five weeks with friends, she was finally able to return to her home and care for herself. She regained her stamina slowly, taking short walks and gradually increasing her distance. Next she joined a gym and returned to work.
A year later, Martha’s dream of one day competing in the Transplant Games became a reality when she won a silver medal in the long jump competition in 2000. At subsequent Games, Martha has won medals in cycling and race walking and found amongst the Games participants, a community of friends, too. “My team Maine associates are like family,” she says. “We share life passages and celebrate holiday together.”
Martha is looking forward to returning to the Transplant Games this June in Louisville, Kentucky where she will once again compete in the cycling and track and field events.
