The Napolitanos of Providence, Rhode Island, are a very close family. Parents Domenic and Nancy still reside in the Mount Pleasant community they’ve called home the past 16 years, and most of the kids have moved out and started their careers. Bianca, the oldest at 33, attended Harvard and earned her doctorate at MIT. She is currently a professor at Holy Cross and lives in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Domenic Jr., two years younger, went to school at Western New England College in Springfield, attained his masters at URI and works as an engineer for Raytheon in Newport. The youngest, John, 21, has one foot out the door. He’s currently a student at Keene State (N.H.) College, completing his degree in journalism and competing on the Owls’ track team.

Last year was a difficult time for the extended Napolitano family. Domenic Sr. lost a close military friend Joseph Mulvee who had served as the best man at his wedding, and Nancy’s sister Theresa lost her long battle with breast cancer.

The news didn’t get any better in the spring when Nancy was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder that causes scarring and thickening of the intestinal walls and frequently leads to obstruction.

Although there are medications for it, there are none that cure it. To make matters worse, Nancy was born with just one kidney and the medication prescribed to her had an adverse affect on it.

“It was basically pick your poison,” said John. “Either damage the kidney or let the Crohn’s disease eventually take its toll.”

Nancy, 59, who had already endured multiple surgeries, decided to opt for the medication, knowing full well it could have a debilitating effect on her one functioning kidney.

When Nancy started on the medication in July, John, along with his brother, father, and uncle, went into the hospital to see if he was a match, just in case a donor kidney for Nancy was needed. While his father and uncle matched, heath and age were a concern. That left John and Domenic Jr. “My brother and I sat down and talked about it,” John said. “We didn’t talk about who should it be, but more about what should we do if she needed a kidney.”

John used logic to try to sway his brother. “I told him, he just had a son, and I feel I should step up and make the donation,” he said.

The debate was softened a few months later when matches were done again, and John’s kidney size was determined to be the best.

“He wasn’t happy with the situation. As the older brother, he felt he should have to do it,” John said. “But when he heard I was the better match, he said, ‘Don’t do this because you have to; do this because you want to.’”

And John wanted to. “This is my mother, and I love her very dearly. So I felt it was something I wanted to do,” said John.

With his siblings already out of the house, John said he was raised like an only child. Following in their footsteps, he attended Classical High School in Providence, a select school noted for its college prep curriculum. “My brother and sister got in, so I was a legacy, basically a shoe-in,” he said.

However, John could firmly stand behind his own credentials. A strong student in the classroom, he also made a name for himself as captain of the Classical High football and track and field teams. A blocking fullback, John had just one touchdown to his name, but he played on a pair of Division II Super Bowl championship teams.

Rhode Island is the only state east of the Mississippi that allows its track athletes to throw both the hammer and the weight. Although John wasn’t one of the Purple’s top competitors, he received the Al Morro Scholarship, presented for his dedication and sportsmanship.

It’s the same traits that have marked his throwing career at Keene State.

“John’s level of dedication is remarkable,” said Darcy Wilson, the Owls’ throwing coach. “He’s a gentleman and a leader, and someone whom younger members of the team look up to.”

Always looking to throw his weight around, John finished third at the Little East meet last year and joined a short list of Owl athletes who had qualified for the New England championships in the event.

Originally planning to major in elementary education, John switched course and decided to pursue a career in journalism. He has written for the Equinox, the school’s student newspaper and has worked as a student assistant in the Keene State sports information office the past four years.

His booming voice can be heard echoing from the Owl athletic complex during many KSC contests.

John has also given up his time during the holiday season to help out at the KSC High School basketball tournament, a four-day, 60-hour hoop extravaganza that John says holds a special place in his heart.

Two days following this year’s tournament, John’s heart and kidney were with his mother.
The plan was to wait after graduation so John had a chance to complete his Owl track career, but a failing kidney has a much rapid timetable. After talking about options, including a donor list with a wait of six to seven months, John said OK. “There’s nothing else we can do. Let’s just do it.”

At 4 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, John gave his mother a new lease on life. The surgery, performed at Brown Hospital, went as planned. Still feeling the aftereffects from surgery, John finally got to see his mother around noon later in the day. Still groggy, but doing well, John and his mother got assurances from the doctor that things went well. The Napolitano clan, which John said included everybody and their grandmother, gave out a unison sigh or relief.

Words between son and mother were few, but emotional. “I hadn’t seen a smile on her face like that in a long time,” said John. It made it worth it. It really did.”

Still taking biweekly dialysis treatments as a precaution, Nancy recently returned home from the hospital. “I feel stronger and better every day,” she said. “Even though I know I won’t be able to live the same lifestyle, I am very grateful that John has sacrificed so much for me. “I would like to think that he has a lot of me in him, and that I would do the same for him any day.”

John, arriving a little late back to school after the first touch-and-go month after surgery, has resumed his classes and even competed in a few meets. It takes a lot out of you when you lose 19 pounds and throw a 35-pound weight. The strong-willed senior did muster enough strength to win the weight throw event at the Wesleyan Invitational a few weeks ago and received LEC honors for his performance.

John says the prognosis for his mother is very good, and she might be able to return to her job at Women’s and Infants hospital in about a year. “They say she should have a long, fulfilling life,” he said.

“Family is the most important thing in my life,” said John reflecting on the arduous, yet gratifying last few months. “Without family and friends, we wouldn’t have been able to get through it as smoothly as we did.”

Quick to deflect any sort of accolades for giving his mother the gift of life, John says his gift will come this spring when his mother comes up to Keene to see him walk across the stage and receive his degree.