Glesne’s legacy extends beyond summer golf tournament

By Willis Patenaude | Times-Register

A few weeks ago, a story proposal came across my desk about a yearly golf tournament honoring an “amazing, caring, compassionate and loving man,” in Michael Glesne, who tragically passed on April 20, 2018, after being taken off of life support following an accident the previous day. 

Glesne was born in Elkader, graduated from Central and helped manage the family business, Coast to Coast. By all accounts, he was a well-liked member of the community and active in sports, especially golf, a sport he participated in during high school and while attending Coe College. 

It was a game he “loved,” and something he did with father Maury and his friends. During Glesne’s funeral, it was a friend from college who brought up the idea of hosting a birthday bash golf tournament on what would’ve been Glesne’s 38th birthday on Aug. 4. 

The tournament was held, with all proceeds donated to the emergency services, which were utilized to transport and care for Glesne on his way to the hospital in Iowa City. That year, over $7,000 was donated to the Central Community Hospital Central Ambulance Service. 

The tournament has been held every year since, with over $30,000 donated in that time period in Glesne’s memory. 

That’s how the story started, and a few days ago, Michael’s mother Linda reached out wondering if the article should be held off, given the tournament was a few months ago, so it might no longer be relevant. 

However, this is not a story about a golf tournament. Not really, anyway. It’s about an “amazing, caring, compassionate and loving man,” and those stories don’t traditionally come with a print-by date. It’s the other important thing that came out of Glesne’s death: the gift of life.

In America, roughly 60 percent of the population is a registered organ donor, and it turns out Glesne was one of them, donating his heart, lungs, kidneys and liver. According to the Iowa Donor Network, “an average of 17 people die each day while waiting for an organ transplant,” and in Iowa alone, over 630 patients are currently waiting for a transplant. 

After Glesne’s passing, four individuals received his organs, all of whom have reached out to the Glesne family. One even attended the golf tournament. 

Among those individuals was a 62-year-old grandfather who received Glesne’s right kidney and liver. In his letter to the family, the recipient reflected on how “touched” and thankful he was. The father of five had been on dialysis for over three years for five hours a day, three times a week, while still working. 

The situation made for “long days and missing out” on his children’s activities. After receiving the new organs, he was given a new lease on life, one he doesn’t take for granted. The “selfless gift” gave him the chance to spend more time with family, go to football games and take family vacations that didn’t revolve around dialysis centers. 

“I just can’t thank you enough for this gift, and not a day goes by that I don’t think of your family and the wonderful gift you have given me and my family,” he said. 

Glesne’s left kidney was donated to a 52-year-old postal worker, who was married with three children at the time, and had spent six months on the transplant list, undergoing dialysis three times a week for four years. He described the transplant as “life-changing,” and shared plans for a vacation over Christmas that year. He also shared his own passion for golf and noted how “caring and giving” Glesne sounded through the family’s letters. 

“I spend most of my time fishing now. Also looking forward to doing much more of that with no dialysis. I think maybe I should take up golf again, so Michael’s spirit can teach me a thing or two,” he shared. 

A 42-year-old man received Michael’s lungs. At the time of the transplant, he was married with two children, working in IT and enjoyed playing cards, board games and video games. His time on the waiting list lasted only 10 days. His name was Joshua and writing to the Glesnes was the “most difficult thank you letter” he ever had to write. Finding the right words to recognize the sorrow of a grieving family, while expressing the heartfelt thanks for receiving Glesne’s lungs was no easy task. 

The gift changed his life. The simple things, like climbing six stairs to the main floor of his house, was a moment he would never forget. He no longer needed to stop to take a breath. His chest didn’t hurt and he didn’t need to sit down anymore. With each step, he went further and faster, and it was “because Michael is helping me,” he said. The recipient was also looking forward to attending golf practice the following year, when his children planned on joining the team, something that previously would’ve been impossible. 

“Thank you. My wife, daughter and son, thank you. You and Michael have done more for me and my family than you will ever know,” he said. 

Glesne’s heart, the source of his compassion and caring, went to a 50-year-old married man with two children who had been using a mechanical circulatory heart support device for five months while waiting for a transplant. His name is Tim, and he has been the most active with the Glesnes since receiving the organ donation, even attending one of the golf tournaments. 

In 2017, Tim was diagnosed with heart failure, and his heart was functioning at around 11 percent, which required surgery and a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), which consists of a titanium pump placed internally next to the heart, an external controller and two lithium batteries that were recharged each night. Tim had to wear an LVAD vest every day and plug it in every night, buying time until a donor could be found.

Glesne’s heart gave Tim a “second chance” to return to his hobbies, like woodworking, fishing and sports, and spending time with his wife, two daughters and two dogs. 

“It takes a special person and a special family to donate life. It is a selfless act that instantly impacts the lives and families of others. My heart (Michael’s heart) goes out to you. I hope to make you and Michael proud,” he said in a letter. 

Though he was no longer swinging the driver and hitting irons in the fairways, Glesne was saving lives. It is an example of immeasurable compassion. 

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal,” read a quote inside a thick red binder filled with memories of Glesne—pictures, newspaper clippings, other donor success stories and correspondence with those his compassion saved.  

Glesne’s memory lives on now in the daily lives of those four individuals and at the yearly golf tournament, held at the Elkader Golf and Country Club. While that happens once a year in August, the red blood cells his kidneys make, the air his lungs breathe and the blood his heart still pumps happens every single day. That is something worth celebrating today, tomorrow and every August, when you should be ready to swing away, and in my case, yell “Fore!”