GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The River Bank Run is one of the most momentous weekend events in Grand Rapids, with people coming from all over to compete.
18,000 runners, all with their own unique stories, inspirations, and motivations, will take part Sat. May 11.
But one man, who never before envisioned himself running a 5K -- let alone in the largest 25K in the country -- is doing so to honor a family he doesn't even know.
Scott Kovacs had a condition that went undetected for decades.
“We would think he had contracted sports asthma,” said Shannon Kovacs, Scott’s wife. “They thought he had pneumonia.”
His breathing became so bad, she took him to an urgent care where they finally took a chest X-ray.
“The technician that put up the image basically took two steps back and went ‘oh my,’” Shannon Kovacs said.
He had cardiomyopathy, a disease that causes the heart to become enlarged. For him, it was genetic.
“At that point my heart function was already down around 30 percent, and was going down,” Scott Kovacs said.
Doctors properly diagnosed him in his 40s.
“We knew it would be a matter of time before I would need a transplant,” Scott Kovacs said.
Three pacemakers, and a left ventricular assist device later, his heart continued to deteriorate.
“He couldn't climb a flight of stairs without having to lie down, he couldn't play with the granddaughter, it was just heart-wrenching,” Shannon Kovacs said.
“In 2015, my internal organs were starting to fail because of lack of blood flow,” Scott Kovacs said.
It was time for a transplant.
“They called and said we had a heart come in, but we have rejected it,” Shannon Kovacs said. “It was too old for somebody Scott's age.”
There was a second phone call, but doctors ultimately decided it wasn’t the right heart for Scott, either. In March of 2016, a third call came.
“When the phone rings in the middle of the night, you know what the call is for at that point,” Scott Kovacs said.
After successful transplant surgery, Scott’s recovery was swift.
“Once he got out of the ICU after a week, that second week he was up and walking,” Shannon Kovacs said.
That walking, soon turned into running.
“I ran my first 5K about eight months after transplant, and to me at the time felt like a tremendous accomplishment,” Scott Kovacs said.
Just as he was gaining momentum, another challenge stopped him in his tracks.
“In 2018, I got metastatic prostate cancer, and again the medical team locally did a great job,” Scott Kovacs said.
With a healthy heart, and cancer free, he is ready to conquer the longest run of his life.
“It's actually been recommended to me by my medical team that I think of distances more in the 10K range, but I wanted to do this at least once,” Scott Kovacs said.
It’s his way of dedicating time to honor the donor’s family.
“The donor was roughly a 20-year-old male, healthy young male, who unfortunately passed away from a motorcycle accident,” Scott Kovacs said.
Scott said in order to meet the donor family, both have to submit requests showing they want to make contact.
“It would be amazing for them to be able to put their hand on my chest and feel the heartbeat that was a donation from their son,” Scott Kovacs said.
Scott has submitted his letter and is waiting to hear back.
According to Gift of Life Michigan, nationwide nearly 114,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant, about 3 thousand are Michiganders.
A new person is added to the waiting list every 10 minutes.
Last year, Michigan's 338 organ donors resulted in 1,087 life-saving organ transplants.
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