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Award-winning columnist Tom Archdeacon — an old-school storyteller in a brand-new venue — writes about sports, the city, southwest Ohio and anything else that catches his fancy… or yours.Home > Blogs > Through the Arch > Archives > 2009 > June > 07 > Entry
“I got a new strong heart, but I didn’t get a brain.”
DUBLN — In what was shaping up as one of the most unbelievable stories in sports, Erik Compton was working his way toward a spot near the bottom of the leader board at Murfield.
Fifteen holes into the third round of Memorial Tournament Saturday, June 6, the Florida golf pro with the heartfelt Dayton connection was two under par. He’d carded three birds in his last six holes and with a couple more, he’d be in great shape.
Then he bogeyed 16 and 17 and double bogeyed 18 when he missed a six-inch putt.
After signing his scorecard, he tromped stone-faced past the autograph seekers, waiting media members and even his caddy. He reached for his wife Barbara and they slipped onto a secluded stairway where they sat for a few minutes.
“I just needed to clear my mind,” he later said. “If I had a punching bag, I’d hit it. You go from having a great round to a really bad round in three holes. I wasn’t thinking. .. Now, even if I shoot 1 or 2 under tomorrow, I’m still going to finish right around dead last.”
A year ago, though, he wasn’t looking at dead last, he was facing the very real possibility of soon being dead.
Diagnosed as a kid with an enlarged heart, his original transplant had worn out. He’d suffered a heart attack and was being kept alive with medication and a defibrillator.
But when Isaac Klosterman — a Chaminade Julienne and University of Dayton athlete and an organ donor — was killed in a hit and run accident, an unbelievable story began to unfold.
It’s a story — entitled “Former CJ Athlete’s Heart Always In Right Place” — I tell in today’s newspaper and it also can be found on this web page.
After today’s final round at the Memorial, Lillian and Jeff Klosterman, Isaac’s parents, finally will meet the man in whose chest their son’s heart now beats.
And while Erik is especially appreciative of the gift, his competitive side — the side he’s regained thanks to Isaac — made him yearn for more Saturday.
“I got a new, strong heart,” he said shaking his head, “but I didn’t get a brain.”
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TO REGISTER AS AN ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR, go to:
www.DonateLifeOhio.org
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