Uniontown native hopes to encourage organ donation through Rose Parade
Submitted Photo
Uniontown native Wesley Mallicone will appear in the nationally televised Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., on New Year’s Day. A Gift of Life program and liver recipient, Mallicone is one of 24 people selected to ride on the Donate Life America float to promote organ donation. Mallicone is director of sports medicine at Shippensburg University. (Photo courtesy of Bill Smith/Shippensburg University)
Mallicone
Uniontown native Wesley Mallicone feels honored to be appearing in the nationally televised Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., on New Year’s Day riding on a float designed to bring awareness to organ donation.
It’s a subject Mallicone, 38, who is director of sports medicine at Shippensburg University in central Pennsylvania, knows well. In 2011, he received a life-saving liver transplant.
“If it wasn’t for organ donation,” Mallicone said, “I wouldn’t be here.”
Mallicone is one of 24 individuals selected to ride on the Donate Life America float. He is being sponsored by Gift of Life, a nonprofit organ donor program, and will travel to California with his parents and girlfriend.
Billed as “America’s New Year’s Day Celebration,” the parade begins at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and will be televised over ABC, NBC, Hallmark and HGTV networks. Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns is the grand marshal.
Mallicone expressed gratitude to represent Gift of Life, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, where he received his transplant; and Shippensburg University as well as “family and friends who supported me through this long journey.”
“I’m very honored and humbled for this opportunity,” he noted, adding, “I’m really excited for the opportunity to meet recipients from across the country and donor families.”
Mallicone was born in Uniontown on Jan. 25, 1977 to Ron and Anita Mallicone, Uniontown natives who also live in Shippensburg, He still has family in Uniontown, including his grandmother Josephine Mallicone and aunt Debbie Mallicone.
Although jaundiced as a newborn, Mallicone lived a normal life until he began experiencing stomach issues at age 9 and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a chronic disease that affects the colon or large intestine.
Mallicone began making trips to Pittsburgh’s Childrens Hospital, taking medication to control his symptoms and dealing with side effects of the medicine. He adjusted as best he could, frequently feeling sick and having to use the restroom.
By age 13, he was diagnosed with a secondary disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a progressive inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts of the liver that impedes the flow of bile to the stomach and can ultimately lead to liver cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.
Mallicone, who had no liver disease in his family and doesn’t know of a scientific reason why he was struck by the disease, was told by his doctor he would probably need a liver transplant around age 25.
Despite his health issues, Mallicone graduated in 1995 from Geibel Catholic High School in Connellsville, then earned a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Duquesne University and a master’s degree in psychology from Shippensburg University.
Still, he lived with the effects of the disease, including often feeling sick and always having to be aware of restrooms.
“My way of life was something I accepted,” said Mallicone.
That didn’t change until Mallicone received a transplant.
“Having a healthy liver, I realized you’re not supposed to feel that way. I felt like a new person. I just felt different,” he said.
But Mallicone wasn’t placed on the transplant list until he was 32.
His health had continued to deteriorate. In 2006, Mallicone had his gallbladder removed and, in 2009, he experienced his first episode of cholangitis, an infection of the liver bile ducts, and began a series of hospital admissions to Hershey Medical Center over the next few years for surgeries every two to three months to remove and replace stents to keep his bile ducts open.
Malllicone had maintained a healthy diet but now faced more restrictions that included low sodium, low fat and minimal fluid intake. He started taking water pills as he began retaining water since his liver wasn’t working properly. Mallicone experienced painful muscle cramps and had difficulty sleeping. He became more jaundiced.
“I would say because I work in the medical field that I recognized the reality that I might not get a transplant,” said Mallicone. “A lot of things have to happen. You have to be sick enough, be high enough on the transplant list and be in the right place at the right time.”
But he noted, “You’re only hope is to be positive and focus on today. And if it’s not today, if I can just get through to tomorrow and that’s the day.”
Mallicone was again hospitalized when his doctor informed him Aug. 3, 2011 – after two years and two months on the transplant list – there was a possible donor.
He said, “I was excited about the possibility but at the same time, I was accepting that it might not happen.”
Mallicone called his family to come to the hospital and surgery was scheduled for 3:30 a.m. Aug. 4, what Mallicone now considers his second birthday.
In his recovery, he struggled with everything, including walking, eating, dressing and bathing. He used a walker the first several weeks. He dealt with a mental recovery as well but, as the days and weeks passed, Mallicone continued to improve. He went back to work full time the following January.
Always grateful and respectful of his donor and the donor’s family, Mallicone began sharing his story about six months after his operation after being asked to make a presentation.
“I was nervous and hesitant but because I was asked by the individuals who saved my life, I couldn’t say no,” said Mallicone.
He now speaks a couple times a year, sometimes more, to encourage organ donation, saying, “It’s a small way for me to give back.”
Mallicone advises people to make an informed decision when asked about organ donation.
He noted, “If someone in your family needed a donation, would you change your mind?”
Mallicone is hoping his appearance in the Rose Parade will further encourage organ donation.
“As uncomfortable as it is to be in front, if it’s my contribution, I’m okay with it,” said Mallicone. “If people can see a face and a name, and know ‘my loved one helped someone like him,’ it’s worth it.”