Band of Brothers
by George Diaz
Raymond Burkhart didn’t have any emotional reasons for donating a kidney to a man he barely knew. He did have moments of doubt along the way but never dwelled on them.
“Why not?” Ray thought to himself. “I have an extra one.”
The why doesn’t really matter, because he saved the life of Dennis Fink in the process.
On September 25, 2024 – the day of the donation surgery – Ray of Lake Mary and Dennis of Sanford officially became blood brothers, solidifying a bond that neither could have anticipated.
A Critical Need
Dennis and Ray’s paths first crossed because of a simple thing they had in common: Each had children who were members of Seminole High School’s marching band.
Julie Fink, Dennis’s wife, was a band parent volunteer at the school, where she met Ray, a volunteer coordinator, in 2021. When Ray noticed that Julie’s husband was rarely around for band events, she confided that Dennis was homebound, necessitated by 12 hours of daily in-home dialysis treatments.
Ray asked her if Dennis was seeking a donor. At the time, no one in the Fink family was a match for Dennis, and his health was declining rapidly. He was one of approximately 37 million Americans on a transplant waiting list, according to the National Kidney Foundation. And time was not on his side.
“I was on the verge of passing out any minute, sick to my stomach all the time, had phosphorous sores all over my body, and I couldn’t go up the stairs without getting winded,” says Dennis, 57. “The life expectancy for somebody on dialysis is five to 10 years, and I was at six years and was trending toward the lower end of that spectrum.
My health was steadily deteriorating throughout the process.”
Ray decided to get tested to see if he could be a potential donor.
“I was like, ‘What are the odds of me being a match?’” says Ray, who turned 50 in June.
Against All Odds
Ray was tested in December 2022 and learned he was a blood and tissue match. When Ray told his family he was considering donating a kidney to someone he’d never met, he ran into some expected pushback. After all, Ray was the father of three sons and the legal guardian of two other children who might need a kidney one day.
Ray countered: “So, I let Dennis die because someone in my family may need a kidney 30 years from now?”
Early on, Ray’s doctors wouldn’t sign off on the kidney donation because he wasn’t in the best shape, himself. But a determined Ray began an 18-month journey of prep work to ensure he could handle the physical demands of being a living organ donor, going through extensive testing and psychological screenings. He also began to exercise regularly, losing 30 pounds within months. Ray was eventually given the medical green light to move forward with the kidney donation, and his family’s objections had also dissipated.
At that point, Ray still hadn’t told the Finks about his intentions. He and Dennis finally met face-to-face in July 2024, when Ray revealed his plan. Dennis was stunned and left trying to process such a wonderful random act of kindness.
“I was desperate,” says Dennis, a father of three. “I knew this was my last shot.”
Things then began moving quickly. The surgery was performed two months later at the AdventHealth Transplant Institute in Orlando. Doctors removed Ray’s left kidney, which began working for Dennis within minutes, and both men were able to leave the hospital after a three-night stay.
Hope for the Future
Dennis and Ray’s story would not end there. The Fink and Burkhart families began spending time together for holidays and other assorted celebrations. Recently, Ray and his wife, Mandy, attended the wedding of one of Dennis’s children. Ray tried to fly under the radar, but that was impossible because all the guests wanted to meet the man who had saved Dennis’s life. Other than the bride and groom, no one received more attention at the reception. A grateful Dennis gave a heartfelt thank you to Ray during his toast, drawing applause from everyone in the room.
Ray, an assistant scoutmaster with Scouting America, has also been honored with a merit award from the organization for his lifesaving donation.
Both Dennis and Ray are thriving. Dennis says he’s now in better health than he has been in the past 15-plus years. The Fink family even went on a trip to Italy and Greece, reflecting Dennis’s restored mobility and quality of life.
A transplant isn’t a silver bullet cure. The lifespan of a kidney from a living donor is between 15 to 20 years. But Ray’s donation promises to bring Dennis many healthy and happy days ahead.
“What he did, so unselfishly, that’s the beauty of the whole thing,” says Dennis. “He deserves all the credit in the world. I could never repay him enough.”