Obese Dad Loses It For Daughter’s Organ Transplant His Condition Ruled Out Surgery For Perfect Donor Kidney, So He Shed 103 Pounds, And Plans To Keep It Off

Randy Leamer dropped 103 pounds to donate a kidney for his 5-year-old daughter. Now he’s determined to keep the weight off.

No food is so delicious as getting a hug from his kids - especially now that they “can actually get their arms around me,” Leamer said Wednesday, less than three weeks after the successful operation.

When the 32-year-old Pennsylvania mill operator learned in December 1996 that his kidney was the perfect match for his daughter Meagan, his weight - 297 pounds - made surgery too risky. Obesity increases the possibility of developing pneumonia, blood clots and other complications.

In January 1997, he went on a strict diet. He ate one meal a day, cut out sweets and fats and began to exercise. He was in a hurry - Meagan, who had been diagnosed at 1-1/2 with a kidney disease that leads to kidney failure, was on dialysis.

“I had a strong motivation to lose it fast,” he said. “There was never any question about donating it, but I was just worried that I would not get my weight down fast enough.”

He was down to 194 pounds for the Dec. 12 operation at Cleveland Clinic. Meagan was sent home to North East, Pa., a week later and is expected to recover fully.

On Wednesday, a bashful Meagan appeared at a news conference at the clinic but was too shy to speak.

Her mother, Genie Leamer, described the ordeal as a cross between heaven and hell.

“When she started dialysis, I thought, ‘I will never be able to do this,”’ she said. “Now, for the first time in a few years, I have nothing to do but watch her play.”

Randy Leamer did not appear at the news conference. He said in a telephone interview from his northwestern Pennsylvania home that he was still feeling some post-surgery pain and didn’t want to make the 108-mile trip to Cleveland.

As soon as the doctors allow, he plans to resume walking 2-1/2 miles a day.

“I really enjoy walking and I find that I don’t even like the taste of sodas and other high-calorie foods I used to eat,” he said.

He said he has gained a couple of pounds since surgery but is still following a healthier eating plan.

As he approached his 100-pound goal in the fall, he resumed eating three meals a day, but limited his intake to fruits, vegetables and chicken. That’s a far cry from the fried chicken and chocolate milk he once downed regularly.