Robert Arnold of Pompano Beach, an underdog in many of the harness racing fields he's faced, is again facing health challenges he's overcome before
. The 56-year-old hobby horseman originally from Newark, New Jersey is facing long odds again in a struggle that he admits is becoming increasingly tough to win.
"My need for a kidney and pancreas donation is becoming more urgent every day, you could say it will soon be at the point of being desparate," Arnold says. "I simply need them now more than ever to first of all, survive, and secondly, to have some prospect for a normal life."
His history of receiving a major organ donation dates to 1998 when his wife Rene donated a kidney to him.
"I found it's just a loving and caring experience to have become an organ donor," Rene says. "Robert was in need and after 35 years of marriage, they determined we were a perfect match for a kidney, which was a great stroke of luck. There are so many people still in need...and now my husband is again one of them."
The life expectancy for a kidney, after a transplant, is about 10 to 12 years, according to Robert Arnold. He says he's heard of situations where recipients have gone up to 25 years after a transplant without problems.
"Those situations are rare for anyone to go longer than 10 years or so without trouble after a kidney transplant, and it's only possible when the recipient isn't a diabetic," Arnold says. "In my case I was prescribed an incorrect medication about 16 months ago. My kidney went into shock and shut down so I've been on dialysis three times per week ever since."
"It's been frustrating to wait more than 16 months just to get on the waiting list for the organs I need," he says. "I've done everything they've told me to do at the University of Miami's Jackson Memorial centre. I'll find out on February 2 if I've made the South Florida list and just where I stand."
Trotting Mare Helps Keep Him Going
In spite of the necessity of dialysis three times each week, Arnold seldom misses a day checking in on his trotting mare Elisabeth Ann Can, under the care of trainer Odell Thompson at the Isle. He also keeps a full schedule at the family business, a well known delicatessen less than a quarter of a mile south of the track where win pictures with his horses adorn the walls.
"The doctors and a lot of people really wonder how he keeps going and I know for a fact a big part of it is harness racing and our mare," Rene explains. "The story on how he bought her is that he reached up to scratch under his glasses at a sale and the bid spotter took it as a sign. The hammer went down for $600 and she's been a lot of fun for him, even when she's not racing well. Being involved in racing, even with just one horse, is a big factor in what drives Robert to keep going. If anyone in racing wants advice on organ donation or transplant matters, I hope they'll look us up because we've been through it. The medical community has done a phenomenal job in making organ donation so much easier. We'll be only too happy to share our knowledge and experience with them. And of course I take the position everyone should sign up for organ donation with so many people in desparate need out there," Rene added.
Robert Arnold last drove Elisabeth Ann Can to victory at the Isle on December 28. Since then she's had some soundness issues but he plans to be back in the bike for her next race, which he hopes will be within a month.
"Well let's see I've had two open heart surgeries, a hip replacement, I've been treated for cancer twice, I'm a diabetic, I have a permanent shunt in my chest for dialysis three times per week and I need a kidney and pancreas transplant, but here I am," Robert says. "I've got to get the organs I need soon but I don't dwell on it, I accept that it's out of my control anyway. I keep going with careful planning and on a whole lot of will power. I work at our restaurant every day and I refuse to miss a single start in the race bike with our mare too."
(Pompano Park)