Kidney Punch
In today’s Washington Post, there was a brief news service article about a man, a woman, and the kidney that has come between them
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - When his wife needed a kidney transplant, physician Richard Batista gave her one of his… Now that Dawnell Batista has filed for divorce, Richard Batista wants his kidney back as part of his settlement demand. Or … the value of that kidney: an estimated $1.5 million.
As might be expected, there is much more to the story. According to the New York Daily News
The Long Island doctor wants the one-time love of his life to pay $1.5 million for the organ he bestowed on her eight years ago in a gift meant to save her life and their foundering marriage….
Batista charged his wife, Dawnell, repaid his gesture by first sleeping with her physical therapist - and then denying him access to their three kids in an increasingly bitter divorce.
Adding to his anguish, Batista insists his decision to donate his kidney in 2001 was in part a failed effort to rescue their troubled relationship….
Their marriage lasted just another four years, with the wife filing for divorce in July 2005.
The once-happy pair met two decades ago when he was a resident and she a training nurse at North Shore Hospital.
They were married in August 1990 … [and] … shared the joy of three daughters, but Dawnell was battling kidney failure and the couple’s relationship turned shaky….
Dawnell’s health continued to deteriorate. After two transplants failed, her husband volunteered to donate one of his kidneys - and discovered he was a match, a 1-in-700,000 shot.
“I was the first and only one to step to the plate,” the doctor recalled. Without his donation, Dawnell faced a long wait: There are 6,748 people awaiting kidneys in New York State, the New York Organ Donor Network says.
Successful surgery followed … on June 28, 2001. Batista said he was looking forward to happier times with his now-healthy bride - but his hopes proved futile.
“Nothing changed,” he said.
Dawnell Batista viewed the kidney as a new lease on life, too. She returned to school to earn a master’s degree in nursing, and took up karate, her husband said.
After an injury suffered while trying to earn her black belt, she began physical therapy - which evolved into an affair with her therapist, Batista said….
Batista said the ongoing ugliness began on day one of their divorce.
“She slapped me with divorce papers when I was in surgery trying to save another person’s life,” he fumed.
You gotta love it. Doctor, nurse, daughters, crumbling marriage, failing kidneys, odds of 1-in-700,000, transplant, karate, injury, physical therapist, infidelity, divorce papers served during surgery, $1.5 million. This story has everything, almost. What is missing? Why, a tractor, of course, if this story in the Daily Times of Pakistan is to be believed
The wife of a farmer from Bahawalpur has registered a case against her husband, accusing him of selling her kidney without her consent to purchase a tractor, police said on Monday.
District Police Officer (DPO) Bahawlapur Arif Nawaz said that police had registered a case against farmer Shakeel Ahmed following the written complaint of his wife, Safia, “in the light of a medical report indicating that (her) husband had unlawfully sold one of her kidneys”.
Safia moved an application to the Noshera Jadeed station house officer (SHO), stating that her husband, whom she married in 2004, had beaten her when she was three-months’ pregnant, causing her to miscarry.
She said that her husband then took her to Bahawal Victoria Hospital, on the pretext of seeking medical treatment. She accused doctors of removing one of her kidneys during a surgical procedure, claiming that they had acted in collusion with her husband and had failed to secure her consent before removing the organ.
Safia said that she only came to know about her ordeal when she later contracted a urinary tract infection and sought medical treatment. She also pointed out that that her husband then confessed what had happened, admitting that he had sold her kidney and used the money from the transaction to buy a tractor.
Noshera Jadeed police said that they had registered a case against Ahmed, adding that investigations into the alleged crime were still continuing.
The stories above are no laughing matter. So this post would not be complete without a kidney joke.
A man is walking on the beach when he trips over a lamp. A few seconds later, a genie pops out and says, “I’m required to grant three wishes, but since you did not treat my lamp with respect, I will give twice what you get to the person you hate most—your boss.”
The man agrees and makes his first wish: “I want lots of money.” Instantly $20 million appears in bags on the beach, and $40 million appears in his boss’ bank account.
Next the man asks for an incredible sports car. Instantly a Lamborghini appears, and at the same moment, two show up outside his boss’ house.
Finally the genie says, “You have but one wish left; you should choose carefully.”
The man says, “Well, I’ve always wanted to donate a kidney.”