Bitter loss helps to unite two families

Michael H. Hodges / The Detroit News

June 22, 2006

Mitchell A. Komaromi, left, reached out to Karen Sisco and her husband Tony (not pictured), whose generosity saved Mitchell's life

Mitchell A. Komaromi was in the shower when the 47-year-old suddenly choked up, realizing what he had to do.

So on Mother's Day he drove to White Lake with a bouquet of white flowers -- the biggest he could find -- and rang Karen and Tony Sisco's doorbell.

Mitch, you see, is the new owner of their son's liver.

Tony Jr., 12, died in December when he broke his neck in a freak snowboarding accident.

Benumbed with shock, Tony and Karen remembered that their first-born, a bright, adventuresome 12-year-old, had once said he thought organ donation was a great idea.

Doctors were able to save Tony's corneas, both kidneys and his liver.

Tony Sr. was out of the house early on Mother's Day, when Karen answered the door in her housecoat to find Mitch standing there.

While she and Tony had met Mitch a month before at an event for Gift of Life, the transplantation agency, she never expected to find an organ recipient on her doorstep.

"I was totally shocked," Karen says softly. "It was so thoughtful of him."

The two families first made contact a couple months after the transplantation when Mitch and his wife, Sue, wrote the dead boy's parents.

"Oh boy," says Sue, "that was a hard letter." They told Tony and Karen they, too, were grieving over the loss of Tony Jr., and that they hoped someday they could meet.

"And then we thanked them. I mean," she adds, "how do you thank somebody for something like that?"

A few weeks after Mother's Day, Mitch -- who runs a plumbing and drain service -- was griping with Tony about problems he was having reroofing his house.

That weekend, Karen and Tony -- who's a roofer -- showed up in Lansing to finish the project.

Mitch protested, but Tony insisted. What would have taken the plumber weeks got accomplished in one day.

"How often," asks Mitch, "do you get a new liver and a new roof?"

This past weekend, Karen and Tony had Mitch and Sue and their kids over for Father's Day. They spent part of it watching Tony Jr. in old home movies.

When Mitch and Sue headed back to Lansing, their youngest -- Kimberlin, 9 -- stayed at Karen and Tony's for several days, to play with their daughter, Shanda, 11.

Karen says when they donated Tony Jr.'s organs, it never occurred to them that they'd meet -- much less get to like -- some of the recipients.

Of the unlikely bond between the two families, Karen says, "It's kind of hard to explain. With organ donations, it's almost like family -- like you're related.You're connected."

It seems to work both ways. Mitch and Sue now have pictures of Tony Jr. all over their house.

It's clear to Mitch that he and his wife have stumbled on a permanent friendship.

"Oh yeah," says Mitch. "It's just growing. Growing all the time. They want me to go up north Thursday camping with them, but unfortunately I'm on call 24/7 with my job."

And in an odd way, Karen suspects Mitch has fallen under Tony Jr.'s influence.

"Mitch says he now has a craving for pizza," she says, and laughs a little.

"Tony Jr. loved pizza."

You can reach Michael H. Hodges at (313) 222-6021 or mhodges@ detnews.com.

Copyright © 2006 The Detroit News.

This article posted July 18, 2006.