[Sport] Butler community rallies around one of its own in need of kidney transplant

[Lunix I]

Michael Kaltenmark has made a career out of building a brand on social media. The Butler University director of external relations never imagined that his tweets -- or, more accurately, those of his four-legged sidekick -- could one day say save his life.

That’s exactly what’s happened over the past several months, however, as the 39-year-old Kaltenmark, best known as the handler to Blue III, the university’s live bulldog mascot, has leaned on Blue and his impressive online following to find a kidney donor for his own much-needed transplant.

“I still can't get over the fact that he's helped me recruit people and bring awareness to the cause," Kaltenmark told OSDB Sports of Blue III and his army of Twitter and Instagram followers in a recent phone interview. "And I was sensitive to that. I didn't want to have to lean on the dog's celebrity to help me.

“I knew it was probably an inevitable part of this, and I even apologized to my boss, like, 'I'm not trying to use the dog or bring attention to myself.' But she said, 'Are you kidding me? If this helps you and this dog saves your life, then we're all behind it.’”

Though it wasn’t the direct cause, the genesis of Kaltenmark’s need for a kidney is his ongoing battle with Crohn’s disease, which causes inflammation in the digestive tract.

Kaltenmark says he was most symptomatic in the late ‘90s, during his time in high school and college, and part of his prescription regimen during that time period was Asacol, an anti-inflammatory drug commonly used by Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis patients.

Following his graduation from Butler in 2002, Kaltenmark was hired by his alma mater, and at that point, the Wabash, IN., native decided to seek out a new Crohn’s specialist in Indianapolis, an effort to avoid making the hour and 45-minute drive to the Fort Wayne area for treatment.

It was a change that ultimately may have saved his life.

When Kaltenmark’s new gastroenterologist, Debra Helper, ran some routine blood tests, she noticed his kidney function levels were unusually low. Helper referred Kaltenmark to nephrologist Michael A. Kraus, who immediately suspected that the Asacol could be the culprit.

Kraus ordered Kaltenmark to stop taking the drug, which he says was not being monitored appropriately, and subsequent blood tests showed that Kaltenmark’s kidney function had started to rebound. Unfortunately, “the damage had been done,” Kaltenmark said.

“(Kraus) said, ‘The kidneys don't regenerate, they don't heal themselves,’” Kaltenmark recalled. “He said, ‘Yours, fortunately, have rebounded, so your kidney function is it's OK. But it's not good, and eventually you're probably going to need need a transplant.’”