Canton native gives gift of life to patient in need

Some people give of their time to help those in need while others donate their possessions. John “Jake” O’Neill does both. In August he will spend two days riding his bike in the Pan-Mass Challenge in honor of his mother who is undergoing treatment for cancer. In March he gave one of his kidneys to a young man whose organs had failed.

Jake O’Neill (right) poses for a photo with his kidney recipient, Nick.

O’Neill now lives in Abington but grew up on Highland Street in Canton, one of five children, in the same house where his parents, Sue and Jack, still live. He attended the John F. Kennedy School, the Galvin Middle School, and Canton High School, graduating as a proud member of the Class of 1984. He went on to earn a degree from Tufts University and now teaches science at the Davis School in Brockton. His wife, Elaine, worked for General Electric years ago and stayed in touch with friends and people she worked with at the company via Facebook.

Last year, a former GE colleague and his wife posted on Facebook that their son, Nick, 20, needed a kidney and asked if anyone was willing to be tested to see if they might be a match. Both Elaine and Jake were tested, and while Elaine was not a match, Jake’s results were different. “I got tested and passed all the first tests,” he said.

In February, O’Neill underwent a series of additional tests to make sure that he was healthy enough to donate a kidney and that he would remain healthy without it. Although the process was stressful, he was more worried that Nick would not get the kidney that he needed.

“I was deathly afraid I was going to do something to get myself off the list,” he said. “It would be my fault. He needed it more than I did.”

But after a long day of tests and talking with a therapist, O’Neill was approved to donate his kidney. He and Elaine went out to dinner to talk over the decision and on another day went out to eat and talk with their five children: Erin, John III, Emily, James, and Elizabeth, who range in age from 23 to 11. “They weren’t that surprised,” O’Neill said.

He added that donating a kidney to Nick was an easy choice for him because he thought of his own children and the children of his friends and how challenging it can be to find a match. “He’s that kid to someone who couldn’t do it,” he said.

He and Nick underwent the surgical procedures at Brigham and Women’s Hospital on March 20. By that point they had nicknamed the kidney the “Wicked Pissah.” Elaine got them matching mugs that bear that saying.

The kidney began functioning right away, and the day after surgery, the first thing Nick asked for was a banana. Before surgery, he was on a restricted diet and could not eat the fruit. Nick, a junior in college, manages the baseball team at the school he attends. He takes anti-rejection medications and his body is adjusting to having a new kidney.

O’Neill coaches in Abington, and when people see him they inevitably ask how he is feeling following the donation. He says their next question is about Nick. “No one in Abington knows him, [but] they’re thinking a lot about him as well. He’s part of the equation.”

As for O’Neill, he was released four days later and has recovered well from the surgery. Nearly two months later, friends of his are still in awe — although not necessarily surprised — at the selflessness of his gesture.

“To give your kidney to anyone is a big deal, but Jake gave his kidney to almost a perfect stranger, essentially saving his life yet flat-out not thinking it’s that big of a deal,” said David Kenney, a childhood friend of O’Neill’s from Canton.

Kenney, who recently reconnected with O’Neill through Facebook, couldn’t say enough about his former CHS classmate. “I’ve always held him in high regard, ever since we were kids,” he said. “You could talk to the entire class, literally the entire class, and every single person would have something extremely kind to say about this guy.”

Still, Kenney said the kidney donation has put O’Neill into a whole new stratosphere when it comes to people he respects and admires. “For someone to be so courageous and selfless, to me I’m so profoundly moved by this gesture,” Kenney said.

A multi-sport athlete during his time at Canton High School, O’Neill cannot take certain medications since having the surgery nor can he play contact sports. He joked that he will never be Tom Brady’s backup quarterback, but fortunately he can still ride his bike.

This August, O’Neill and his sisters Nancy Powers of Canton and Katie Baculi of California will ride together in the Pan-Mass Challenge in honor of their mother, Sue O’Neill, who was diagnosed with lung cancer and has been undergoing chemotherapy for the past few years.

Sue worked as a teacher and a teacher’s aide in the Canton Public Schools for many years. “She’s unbelievably strong,” O’Neill said. “I can’t make it get better. I can ride my bike for her and raise some money so someone else’s mom doesn’t have to go through this. It’s the only thing I can do. I can’t do anything else.”

O’Neill has another sister, Maureen Miller, of Abington, and a brother, Michael, who lives in Oregon.

O’Neill has raised $1,000 toward his goal of $4,900. To make a donation and support his ride, please go to http://profile.pmc.org/JO0175.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on May 12 2018. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.