It seems almost everyone knows this remarkable lady. Sheila Carpenter, class of 1972 is an inspiration to all who meet her. Following Sayville High, she went to Dowling College and then to StonyBrook. She served as a Social Work Supervisor at New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities. Sheila teaches adjunct Faculty at Suffolk County Community College. Sheila is involved in multiple community projects including the community food pantry and as a Rotarian, strongly supports their numerous community initiatives.
Most recently, Sheila donated a kidney. She did not know who she was donating it, too.
Amazingly, the recipient of Sheila’s kidney turned out to be another Sayville high school alumni, Larry Stangenberg, class of 1970.
Such a gift is truly amazing. Lois O’Donnell Kilkenny expressed this eloquently in a Facebook comment;
“Sheila while all of us have been familiar with your kindness and generosity of spirit for more years than I can believe at this point, your recent gift of life to someone with your kidney donation makes everything else pale in comparison. Just preparing for it was a lesson in commitment and fortitude. Actually, having that surgery and transferring the organ is a demonstration of love. You are serving God in the greatest way possible, and he will always shine upon you, you are truly one of his angels here on earth. You make us all better.
“Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine”
Thank you, Lois! So perfectly stated.
Yet, despite this, Sheila downplays her donation. She wrote to me stating “I’m very lucky. I had two kidneys that were both healthy. The process has got so many golden and silver linings to it. I found out exactly how healthy I was. If I could somehow be an example or an encouragement to other people to do the same thing, I think that would be wonderful. (I hope) this encourages anybody who may be on the fence.
For those who did not see the original Facebook posting, below are Sheila Carpenter’s inspirational remarks.
I want to take a minute and thank everybody for all your kind words regarding my recent kidney donation. It was truly an honor to be able to donate my kidney.
If it helps anybody on the fence deciding whether to donate a kidney, I can only say that it personally provided me with only golden and silver linings.
I never knew how healthy I was. You get tested for everything under the sun. This has been going on for a year now. One has to be healthy enough to donate a kidney.
Northwell Kidney Team, at North Shore University Hospital, was more thorough than I ever anticipated. Many thanks to Joseph Valerio from Inspire Physical Therapy & Fitness who enabled me to reach the weight required by the surgeons at North Shore Hospital.
Joe taught me how to eat and read food labels, increase steps, and work out. He reviewed pictures of my meals every day. His team coached me three times a week at their facility in Ronkonkoma. This was all information I learned because of donating my kidney. A true golden lining as I’ll never forget all this information about food and exercise.
It is also an incredible golden lining to know that you’ve helped to extend someone’s life. It is a most humbling experience.
Beyond that, after donating the kidney, I feel great. There is nothing that I cannot do that I did before. Only now I’m even healthier (after Joe Valerio)
I expect to be at full capacity in the next two weeks. So, know that while Larry got a kidney, I got an intense quality of life improvement, in return. Thanks Larry!
So if you are considering donating a kidney, there are many great returns.
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