Nicknamed "Superman" because of his chiseled 6-foot-3 frame,
Marine Lt. Patrick Wayland saved his most heroic act for last. He
donated a kidney to a comrade he never met.
Wayland, a flight student at Pensacola Naval Air Station, died
earlier this month after his heart stopped beating during water
survival training. He was already an organ donor, but while on life
support, his family decided they wanted to help a fellow
Marine.
A doctor who treated the 24-year-old Wayland searched the
Internet for "Marine needing transplant" and found a website for
Sgt. Jacob "Jake" Chadwick, who was stationed on the other side of
the country at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Chadwick had a serious kidney disease and was undergoing
dialysis, four hours each day. He and Wayland were about the same
age, and after several tests, doctors said they were a match.
"He has given me a second chance at life," Chadwick, 23, said
Tuesday.
Wayland decided he wanted to become a pilot and attend the Naval
Academy after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He was a top high
school student, athlete and involved in his community of Midland,
Texas, according to his father. But he didn't get an academy
appointment on his first try and went to Texas Tech. He was
accepted to the academy the next year.
He had recently taken his first solo flight as a Marine flight
student. He sent a text message to his father, David Wayland, as he
was waiting on the runway.
"He did accomplish that goal," David Wayland said. "He had done
his preliminary flight instruction and his solo flight. I joked
with him that if he didn't it make back, we would give his room to
his sister."
When Wayland was taken to the hospital Aug. 1, friends and
family spent four days at his bedside before he was declared brain
dead.
"Patty was physically very strong and seeing him in a hospital
bed was very difficult," said Wayland's roommate, Marine Lt. John
Silvestro. "... At first we thought he was stable and then it went
from one sort of bad news to another."
Dr. Jeffery Moore, a flight surgeon at the Pensacola base who
initially treated Wayland, kept vigil with family and friends. He
wanted to do something for the family.
"I was very happy that I found somebody but there was still a
lot of screening that had to be done. The fact that he turned out
to be such a perfect match was pretty amazing," Moore said.
Chadwick is married and he is expecting his second child in
November. His wife, Victoria, created a website for her husband
when he was diagnosed with kidney disease after returning from a
yearlong deployment to Iraq in 2009. Chadwick had been on a
five-year waiting list for a transplant when he received the kidney
Aug. 7.
He didn't know the full story behind his transplant until days
later when Silvestro, Wayland's roommate, called him. They have
kept in touch ever since.
They Waylands don't know who received the other five organs that
were donated. But they hope to eventually meet Chadwick.
"I know it will take time for them," Chadwick said. "I cannot
begin to express what I feel for what they have done. This is all
so overwhelming."
Chadwick said the Marine Corps is a brotherhood.
"From the time you go into boot camp to the time you leave boot
camp, it is about being there for your fellow Marines. This is the
ultimate example of that."