joe wootten

Father and Son United through Surgery

By Angela E. Pometto
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the Issue of 12/14/06)

When Morgan Wootten, former basketball coach at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., got word that he needed a new kidney, all five of his children volunteered to give up theirs.
“That’s the greatest tribute a parent could receive,” Morgan said.
The doctors suggested that it would be better to receive a kidney from one of his two sons. The older son recently had gall bladder surgery, so Joe Wootten, basketball coach at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, stepped up to the table — literally.
Before the surgery, Father Damian Anuszewski, a theology teacher at DeMatha, came to the Wootten house to celebrate a healing Mass with the family.
On Oct. 11, Morgan and Joe went in for surgery. While most people are sick when they go in for surgery, Joe was perfectly healthy. Afterward, Morgan started feeling better, and Joe started feeling worse.
Two days after the surgery, Joe was wheeled into his dad’s hospital room. His dad had lost a lot of weight but was beginning to get his strength back. They compared notes with each other on the surgery and its aftermath.
“Both our backs were bothering us and other little things,” Joe said. The two talked every day and became recovery buddies.
“Hospital stays are never fun,” Morgan said, adding that overall, the surgery went smoothly and was relatively pain free.
Before going into surgery, Morgan’s goal was to be able to play a game of golf on Election Day, which didn’t end up happening.
“It’s good to set goals — even if you have to reset them,” Morgan said. Instead, he is walking a mile every day to get himself back in shape.
Three weeks after surgery, Joe came back to work part time, but Morgan was still recovering. Joe made it back just in time for basketball season to start. During the first week of practices, he tired quickly, but grew stronger every day.
Eventually, Morgan joined his son on the basketball court and watched an O’Connell scrimmage. As Morgan continues to improve, he is getting out more for social events.
Morgan and Joe are both grateful to all the people from St. Mark Parish in Vienna and the O’Connell community who supported them in prayer.
“It’s not easy, but if you can give someone the gift of life, you don’t regret it,” Joe said. Morgan hopes that more people will be aware of the need to be organ donors. It is a way to save lives.
Joe always saw his dad on the court as a basketball coach, but said that his father never pushed him to follow in his footsteps.
“He allowed me to choose my own path,” Joe said, adding that he volunteered to coach junior varsity one year with his dad. “I loved working with kids.”
So far, O’Connell is 3-0, and Joe is hopeful that the young, but talented team will bring the school another good season.
Angela E. Pometto can be reached at apometto@catholicherald.com.