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Keith Galdino - Sport after surgery

Written for the Lions Magazine

If you think major surgery is the end of your social and sporting life, how wrong you are. For Charlestown Lion Keith Galdino it was the start of an impressive new life as an Australian representative sportsman both in Australia and overseas.

For 52 years Keiths sporting life prior to 1994 consisted of being your typical armchair Norm, whos only interest was the Monday sports results page in the paper. In January that year he received a life saving liver transplant at Sydneys Royal Prince Alfred Hospital which turned his life around. After a long recovery, Keith was told by a member of Transplant Australia to get off your bum and exercise or the operation will be a waste of time and cost. Being a sensitive Lion, Keith took the advice to heart and joined Windale Gateshead Bowling Club where he realized his hidden talent. I never realised competitive sport was so much fun and both mentally and physically enjoyable, Lion Keith said.

In 1997 Keith came to the attention of the Sports Council for the Disabled, under the auspices of Transplant Australia and was selected to represent Australia in the World Transplant Games in Sydney that year. This whetted his pride and appetite for top level sports participation. The flood gates were now open. 1998 was a watershed year when Keith represented NSW at Ballarat (Vic) in the Australian Transplant Games. I not only won a gold medal in my chosen sport of lawn bowls, but also a silver in badminton and a bronze in volleyball, when I filled in for a last minute withdrawal. he said I was hooked on team sports now as well.

Keith then went on to represent Australia at the World Transplant Games in Budapest, Hungary in 1999 (silver in bowling) and the Australian Transplant Games in Wollongong in 2000 (silver in lawn bowls, bronze in volleyball). At the ATG, he was also awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his dedication to disabled sports.

In 2001 at the World Transplant Games in Japan after winning silver again, Keith was approached by the Japanese Lawn Bowling Federation, in relation to a possible coaching stint with them sometime in the future.

The Australian Transplant Games are held every two years, due to the uncertainties of the life span of the participants and the financial support of the host nations. Even though I have proven myself as a sportsman in various disciplines, I receive very little funding or sponsorship from any Government department and I have to go out to the community for assistance. Keith said on his return from the inaugural Asian Transplant Games in Thailand. Once again Keith excelled by winning two gold, four silver and two bronze medals. Keith also proudly carried the Australian flag into the Chaing Mai Stadium. Keith added With assistance from my own club at Charlestown and others in the district, I have been proud to represent Lions and my country wherever I have been.

Keith has been chosen once again to represent Australia along with 1,500 like sportsmen and women from 54 countries, in France in July 2003 and also as one of six Australians at the British Transplant Games a month later. With assistance once again from his own club and supporting Lions clubs, Keith would like to take up this challenge.

TAs mission is to show that the world that the lives of kidney, liver, heart, lung, pancreas and bone marrow recipients, do have meaning and they can still live an active and useful life even after their battle with life threatening illnesses.