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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 > 17 > Entry
“A Remarkable Story”: Finally, a face to go with the heart
They met for almost two hours at a Panera Bread cafe in the Columbus suburb of Powell, not far from Muirfield Village Golf Club.
There was laughter and there were tears. There was a lot of personal sharing and one major correction.
“Erik kept referring to ‘Isaac’s heart,’ and finally we said “No, it’s your heart now,’” Lillian Klosterman said. “It’s yours.”
And that’s when she said her son Ethan, an incoming freshman at the University of Dayton, brought the point home with a smile:
“You know how when you give a gift you don’t want it back? We don’t want it back.’”
This is the private side of a story that became very public 10 days ago at the final round of the Memorial Tournament.
That Sunday, June 7, my column was about 29-year-old pro golfer Erik Compton of Miami, who was teeing it up that morning with a new heart — and with it a whole new and quite wonderful lease on life — thanks to University of Dayton grad Isaac Klosterman and his family.
Isaac had been killed in a hit and run accident in Florida a year ago in May. At the same time, Compton was in desperate need of a new heart. Diagnosed with a defective heart as a kid, he had gotten a transplant at age 12 but that heart now had worn out. He had suffered a heart attack seven months earlier and by May of 2008 his health had deteriorated badly.
When Isaac died in the hospital, Lillian and her husband Jeff — after a confab with the rest of the family — honored their 26-year-old son’s wishes and donated his organs, tissue and bone, gifts that saved at least five people’s lives and helped many others.
Compton got the heart, the same one that had powered Isaac to volleyball fame at Chaminade Julienne and the University of Dayton.
Over much of the next year the Klostermans and Compton — who had married wife, Barbara, and then they added a baby daughter in late February — didn’t know each other’s identity.
In accordance to transplant foundation rules, they first traded anonymous letters, but soon — with some investigative work on both sides — they learned who the other was.
They finally exchanged some e-mails right before the Memorial. Both wanted to know each other and they figured this tournament — which Compton was playing in thanks to an exemption from tournament founder Jack Nicklaus, who fully supports him — was the chance.
During the early days of the tournament, I interviewed the Comptons several times in Dublin and Lillian during a break from her job at the University of Dayton. All were curious about each other. Before my story though, the Klosterman’s identity was unknown to the general public or the media.
Early on the Klostermans had thought of following Compton on Sunday, but then some corporate types with other agendas tried to orchestrate their meeting in a very public way and both shied from that idea. Each worried about the other’s sensibilities in what they knew would be a very emotional first embrace.
And so they decided to meet after Compton finished his final round. Impressive early in the tournament, he didn’t play well on Sunday, shot an 81, and tied Rocco Mediate for 76th place, good for an $11,340 check.
He arrived at Panera with Barbara and Hank Amundson, his best friend and caddy. Along with Ethan, the Klostermans brought along daughter Sylvia, a CJ junior.
“Erik said, ‘I didn’t play very well,’ and I told him, ‘Well, you made it farther than Vijay Singh,’ Lillian said, referring to the winner of three of golf’s major tournaments and last year’s top money man on the PGA Tour. “That made him laugh.”
Lillian said they thought that maybe now since their identity is out and it’s not such a mystery, “maybe he’ll be treated more normally and not just as the heart guy… But even so, it’s still a remarkable story. He was ready to go to heaven.”
Compton is making the most of Isaac’s gift and Lillian could see it:
“You could feel the love. Erik and Barbara are the perfect match for our family. He wasn’t big headed or snooty. He was so down to earth, so kind and appreciative. He far exceeded our expectations.”
Before they parted, Lillian gave Compton a copy of Isaac’s favorite book. “My Side of the Mountain.”
In turn, he gave them something.
“It was so nice to finally put a face to the name,” Lillian said. “I had kind of known it already, but after meeting him, now I’m sure of it: Isaac’s heart could not have gone to a better person.”
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Comments
By Fred Girscht
June 24, 2009 10:06 AM | Link to this
Organ donor family are true heroes.Thanks to them others can live a better life.DONATE LIFEBy Cathi
June 19, 2009 11:54 AM | Link to this
Issac made a difference in the lives of others in life and as an organ donor. Thank you to his caring family for sharing this heartfelt story.By Christine
June 18, 2009 8:59 AM | Link to this
Here I sit with tears in my eyes. There is a special place in heaven for those families who recognize the importance of organ/tissue donation.By Grant Fjermedal
June 18, 2009 1:36 AM | Link to this
This is a wonderful story, and beautifully told.By Lillian
June 17, 2009 10:34 PM | Link to this
Thanks Sue. We Klostermans are definitely just regular folks. And you are SO Right! Tom is a wonderful writer and I would read absolutely ANYthing he writes!-LillianBy Sue
June 17, 2009 10:05 PM | Link to this
Sir: Your columns are phenomenal. Please write a book. I always feel like your subjects are such regular folks. Thanks for everything!