Mars grad, pole vaulter receives kidney from sister
SLIPPERY ROCK — Neal and Jaime Wojdowski share plenty.
As brother and sister, they share the same parents. They shared track and field success in WPIAL and PIAA meets for Mars High School. They share berths in the Mars Athletic Hall of Fame, Neal being inducted in 2011, Jaime in 2015.
And they share a kidney.
Neal Wojdowski, a 2001 Mars graduate who turns 35 in August, was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy — deposits causing inflammation that damages kidney tissues — in February of 2015. His kidneys were functioning at 20 percent and deteriorating.
He needed a transplant.
“I was facing dialysis while on a waiting list for whatever period of time if we didn’t find a match ourselves,” Wojdowski said. “Family members and a lot of my friends were tested.”
Jaime turned out to be a perfect match.
It figured.
Working as an attorney in Washington, D.C., she is a 1999 Mars graduate who competed at the state level in soccer, basketball and track for the Planets. She placed at the WPIAL and PIAA meets in the 300-meter hurdles and still plays in soccer leagues year round.
“Neal and I have always been active,” Jaime said. “I can’t believe he’s still doing the pole vault. That’s crazy.”
Neal was a two-time WPIAL and PIAA champion in the pole vault. He was also a three-time Ivy League champion while at the University of Pennsylvania. He continues to compete in open meets.
Sharing is something Neal Wojdowski has learned to appreciate.
“If my sister ever needs a liver or something — that’s about the only way I’ll ever be even with her,” he said, smiling.
Jaime jokingly said that “he needs to take me out to dinner or something.”
“If I ever need a kidney transplant down the road, I go to the top of the waiting list since I donated one earlier,” she said. “I do get that benefit.
“Neal’s well and doing what he loves to do. That’s the biggest benefit.”
A full report appears in the Butler Eagle.
