Jan. 28, 2003

By Angela Lento
CollegeInsider.com

It was the middle of October, 2001. The Marquette University basketball team had just begun practicing for the season. Head coach Tom Crean and assistant coach Trey Schwab were feeling the effects on what seemed to be nothing more than the flu. Both went to the doctor, were prescribed an antibiotic and assumed it would simply pass.

Two weeks later, Crean was feeling better, but Schwab was feeling worse. A constant cough prompted the 38-year old understudy to schedule a follow up visit with the doctor. The diagnosis was a bad case of pneumonia. More rest and stronger medicine would now most certainly get his health back in order.

But it didn't.

"I took the anti-biotic for a few weeks, but I still wasn't getting any better," says Schwab. "Then one day I woke up coughing blood."

It had been two months since that initial visit to the doctor, with coach Crean, and Schwab was no closer to getting better. Still assuming that is was nothing more than a virus, Schwab checked into the hospital for further examination.

Following a series of tests, the diagnosis was Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a life-threatening lung disorder. On Dec. 19, Schwab was told by doctors that he had a 40 percent chance of surviving three years with the condition.

Just over a year later, Schwab is still fighting hard to keep the disorder at bay, but the fact remains that if he does not get a lung transplant he will die.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis attacks the air sacs in the lungs, blocking the processing of oxygen. And there is no medical cure.

"My only shot at survival is a lung transplant," says Schwab. "The progression of the disease is taking over my lungs."

The average wait for a lung transplant is about three years, but the sad reality is that close to half of those on the list pass away before a match can be found. Matches depend on many factors, including age and blood type.

Schwab's blood type is A+, which only 18 percent of the national population have. That can work for or against him. One thing that is working for him is the regionalization of the organ donor program.

"Heart and lung transplants have to be completed within four to six hours," says Schwab. "They don't have a very long shelf life so it has to be in the recipient very quickly. The Wisconsin region is actually the best in terms of the waiting time. The average wait is a few days less than one year."

Until his name reaches the top of the list, Schwab will continue to battle the condition through medication and workouts.

Doctors prescribed Actimmune, an experimental medicine, which the Federal Drug Administration has not yet approved. This drug is showing progress with people that have a moderate to mild form of the disorder. In such cases it has slowed the condition down and, in some cases, it has stopped its progress all together.

Unfortunately, Schwab has the most severe form of the disease.

"It hasn't done a whole lot for me," says Schwab. "The doctors are leaving me on it because they are afraid of what may happen if they take me off it."

The medication, combined with a lot of initial bed rest, created another problem for Schwab. In early 2002, Schwab's weight had ballooned to 327 lbs.

"They do not perform transplants on people that weigh over 300 lbs," says Schwab. "I had to drastically reduce my weight. Since last year I have lost 110 lbs and 85 of that since last May."

So in addition to everything else, Schwab has goes through a rigorous daily workout to maintain his current weight of 220 lbs.

He carries a portable liquid oxygen tank, which he uses constantly. But he cannot take it on commercial airlines so he often has to drive to road games.

Essentially, Trey Schwab is functioning on less than one lung and couldn't function at all without the aid of oxygen.

To say his continual ordeal is overwhelming would be a vast understatement. But you would never know it to talk to him. In fact, to hear Schwab speak of his condition is inspiring.

He isn't bitter, nor is he counting the days, which would be an admission that he is beaten. Instead he takes it one day at a time, with a true appreciation of the little things and the things he can do to help others.

"Being able to get up everyday and go to work helps me to get my mind off it," says Schwab. "There are a lot of things that you can't control. You have to trust that the man upstairs is going to take care of those things for you."

In the meantime, Schwab has made a concerted effort to help bring attention to the importance of organ donor programs. Not for himself, but the thousands of people who face the same dilemma.

"There are over 80,000 people waiting on transplants," says Schwab. "All I am trying to do is to bring awareness to the importance of carrying a donor card. When someone passes away they can leave something behind that can give someone else a chance at life."

The doctors insist that Schwab be active for no more than eight hours per day. And those eight hours are spent to the fullest.

"I have learned how to get as much possible done in a shorter amount of time," says Schwab. "I still get all my duties [at Marquette] completed and I have not missed a single game. I also want to do as much as possible to get the word out about organ donor programs. I have to balance all of that with rehab, which I have five days a week."

Being an organ donor is something that a lot of people simply do not think about. If you are gone from this world, what need would you have for your heart, liver or lungs? When searching for the obvious answer one will realize that it's something they should do.

Case in point is Schwab's boss, Tom Crean. A year ago, Crean was not an organ donor, but he is now. And so are countless others, through the efforts of Trey Schwab.

On Dec. 14, when Marquette faced Wisconsin, 19,000 flyers were distributed, with Schwab's story, information on organ donation and a tear off donor card. A similar event will take place Feb. 15 when Marquette hosts Louisville. Schwab's former employer, the Minnesota Timberwolves, will do the same for the Feb. 16 home game.

"This is a cause that needs a face and a story," says Schwab. "There are so many people in the same situation as me and I want to do as much as I can. I do not think of this as some big scoreboard clock that is ticking down."