Miracle on Cleveland Street: How an 81-year-old found hope and a new lease on life

A beloved Malden resident has a new lease on life.

Arden "Bo" Tolleson is being called "The Miracle On Cleveland Street" by many of his friends and family.

Tolleson was told a little less than a decade ago that he was on the precipice of renal failure.

But thanks to the selflessness of an unknown organ donor, Tolleson, 81, received a fully-functioning kidney just last week.

The transplant surgery took place at Barnes-Jewish Hospital at Saint Louis, where he recuperated for just a few days and was home by Saturday.

"They told me eight or nine years ago that I had a failing kidney," Tolleson said Tuesday. "But I didn't take it real seriously because I was playing pickleball a couple times a week and table tennis once a week.

"I was taking people to dialysis," he continued. "And I was in so much better shape than they were that I kind of laughed it off."

Those treatments became part of his reality in just the past year or so, he said.

"Eight months ago, my ankles started swelling," Tolleson said. "They told me at the Veteran's Administration in Saint Louis about four years ago that my kidney was failing.

"They asked me if I wanted to be on a donor program," he added. "Well, I said, 'Yeah, I would.' But I asked, 'Why me? At my age?' Because at that time, I was 78. Why not somebody 40 or 50? And the administrator up there said, 'You take your meds as scheduled. And you don't miss appointments.' I asked 'That's it?' She said, 'That's it.' I said, 'Sign me up.'"

Because Tolleson is childless with no heirs, he gave the idea very little thought.

"I wasn't real serious about finding a donor," he said. "You've gotta go up to Barnes and go through testing and all that and find out if you're compatible.

"It's a real hassle, especially living down here," he continued. "But they called me at 2 a.m. last Wednesday. I didn't recognize the number, so I didn't answer the phone. I just let it go to voicemail."

The call disturbed his sleep. So, Tolleson left the comfort of his bed and the warmth of his wife of 31 years and answered nature's call.

"When I came back, they were calling Phyllis," Tolleson noted. "They said, 'This is Barnes Hospital, and we have a match.'

"Phyllis handed me the phone," he continued. "And they asked, 'How soon can you be up here?' We're packing our bags. We can be there at 6 or 6:30 a.m. We checked in at 6:15 in the morning."

By 10 a.m., Tolleson was under a surgeon's knife.

"They had a donor that was a match for me," he said proudly. "And so, I've got a kidney.

"I've been going to Dexter for dialysis three times a week," he added. "I'm going try to reach out to the donor's family. Phyllis said I probably should wait a little bit because the family probably is grieving. But there's a process for that. I would like to reach out and say where I am. This is who I am, and if you'd like to get in touch with me, I'd love to meet the family and express my gratitude, express my thanks."

The experience came with a learning curve, and Tolleson said the key word throughout is "hope."

"I've learned to keep hope eternal," he said. "I didn't think I'd get one, quite frankly, at my age.

"I really wasn't expecting it," he continued. "But you just never know what's coming down the road. For years, I've been an organ donor and it's right on my driver's license. If something happened to me and someone else could use my eyes, or any part of me, well, I can't use them where I was going. So, I'm all for that."

Nearly 43,000 kidney transplants occur in the United States annually, according to a 2022 report.

Tolleson and his wife are grateful for his.

"To have a complete stranger do this for me is overwhelming," he said. "To think of all the things I wanted to do and couldn't, and realize all these doors are reopening, and within six months I can do them all again, is just wonderful."

Phyllis agreed. As Tolleson's wife and caregiver, she's as much a part of his recovery as anyone.

"I was shocked," she admitted. "Neither one of us thought that would ever happen.

"I wasn't ready for him to just sign off," she continued. "And he wasn't either. You have to know Bo. He's a fighter. And he just loves life. He stays active. And there really is no slowing him down. and we are optimistic."

Phyllis received strict instructions regarding his care and recovery, she said.

"He's supposed to drink 64 ounces of water a day," she said. "And it's my place to see that he does.

"He's not to take any kind of medicine that's not prescribed,' she added. "And I have to be really stern about it. He's not to overdo it. But you have to know Bo. He's like a little kid, getting caught with his fingers in the cookie jar. But it's my responsibility to do that. It gets a little hard to do when he gets temperamental. But I think he's beginning to understand the importance of it. He's ... just ... Bo."

So it might be a couple of weeks before Bo Tolleson returns to strumming out tunes on his ukulele, jamming with friends as he does nearly every Sunday at Cape Girardeau.

It might be a couple of weeks before he returns to the challenges of table tennis and physically demanding activities.

It might be a couple of weeks before Bo returns to his responsibilities as a member of the Malden Historical Museum Board of Directors.

There's more than that to everyday life.

Tolleson, who has traveled the world as an adventurer and who has hiked the entirety of the Appalachian Trail, intends to continue his with gusto.

And Phyllis will be there with him, celebrating every day.