Richard Kamm Celebrates "Home Run for Life" Friday with the OKC Dodgers
Published on August 19, 2015 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma City Dodgers and INTEGRIS Health proudly conclude the 2015 "Home Run for Life" series Friday, Aug. 21 during the Dodgers' home game against the Reno Aces at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Dodgers and INTEGRIS will recognize Richard Kamm, whose life has been transformed after losing more than 130 pounds via the INTEGRIS Weight Loss Center and undergoing a heart transplant at the INTERGIS Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute.
"Home Run For Life" recognizes people in the Oklahoma City area who, with the help of their families, physicians and health care professionals, have overcome a significant medical event. Honorees are recognized during a Dodgers game and take a home run "lap" around the bases, symbolizing the end of their battle against adversity.
"We are so pleased to continue the 'Home Run For Life' series with our partner INTEGRIS Health," OKC Dodgers President/General Manager Michael Byrnes said. "Throughout the season, 'Home Run For Life' allows us to feature several extraordinary individuals from the local community who summoned a great deal of tenacity and courage to get where they are today."
Kamm, an El Reno native, had unattended high blood pressure for many years, and was suffering from congestive heart failure when he came to see Douglas Horstmanshof, M.D., with INTEGRIS Advanced Cardiac Care. Both sides of Kamm's heart were not beating in synch, or as he describes it, his heart had a "sway."
He received his first left ventricular assist device, known as a LVAD, in the fall of 2012 - but what he really needed was a heart transplant. Kamm weighed more than 355 pounds, and was unable to be placed on the transplant list due to his size.
He underwent sleeve gastrectomy surgery in the fall of 2013 with Hamilton Le, M.D., of the INTEGRIS Weight Loss Center, to augment his weight loss process. Kamm's stomach was reduced to the size of a large banana, thus decreasing his portions. He worked with a bariatric dietitian to make healthy food choices. An exercise physiologist tailored an activity program to his physical needs. Kamm proceeded to lose more than 130 pounds over the next year.
Then his phone rang with life-changing news on Sept. 16, 2014.
"They said, 'you've got a heart,'" Kamm said. "Your emotions start up at that point. You're elated, but you think about the family that lost somebody."
Kamm was at INTEGRIS Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute less than 30 minutes later. John Chaffin, M.D. performed the surgery and Kamm instantly felt renewed.
"My analogy of the whole thing is the day before I was driving around in a 1949 Volkswagen Beetle, and sometime overnight someone stuffed a 2015 Corvette in there," Kamm said. "I felt that much better - and still do."
Kamm, now 65, returned to work full time at the El Reno Regional Airport last spring.
Around that same time, Kamm received a letter from his heart donor's grandmother, who had raised him since he was six months old and made an amazing realization.
"When she described him in her letter to me, she described me," Kamm said. "Same interests. Same hobbies. Same attitudes, the whole nine yards."
They exchanged letters and spoke on the phone in late May. They met in June and he instantly connected with the family.
"Now they are trying to get us to move down there," Kamm said. "We've talked every week on the phone since then. It's pretty amazing."
To read Kamm's full story, visit okcdodgers.com.
Come see Richard Kamm complete his "Home Run For Life," following the third inning of the OKC Dodgers' game Friday, Aug. 21 against the Reno Aces. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Interview requests for Kamm, INTEGRIS or Dodgers personnel can be made through the Dodgers media department. Tickets for Friday's game are available through the Dodgers ticket office at (405) 218-1000 or by visiting okcdodgers.com.
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