“That stuff doesn’t happen by accident, it just doesn’t … I haven’t heard about any program [in the country] that even comes close to Virginia Tech. It’s a special place and that’s a function of Tony. He’s a great leader and just a remarkable person.”
The familial culture in the Virginia Tech wrestling room was evident in the response to Latona’s sudden diagnosis with a severe, advanced kidney disease. Following his diagnosis, many current and former Tech wrestlers offered support, checking in on the Latona family and assisting in donor recruitment efforts. Several Tech wrestlers and coaches gave personal testimonies for Rudis’ project to help expand Latona’s search, including Robie and his three sons. The program rallied around him, working tirelessly to help him find a donor.
“Virginia Tech is home — and it’s not home because it’s a cool place and it’s beautiful — it’s home because there’s people there that you love and who love you very much and would do anything on Earth to help you out,” Dominic said.
The support from Virginia Tech and the greater wrestling community helped the Latona family during the unsure times following the diagnosis.
“There were a lot of emotions involved,” Sam said. “There were times when me, Dom, my little brother [James], and my mom would be on the phone almost in tears, not knowing exactly what’s going to happen.”
Within a short period of time, Latona was in complete renal failure and required dialysis treatments. The treatments were effective and helped stabilize his condition, but the only long-term solution was a kidney transplant, a process in which finding an eligible donor can often feel impossible due to the criteria and nature of testing.
That didn’t end up being the case for Latona. Once the word got out that he was in need of a donor, an unprecedented number of people registered for testing.
“The doctor came in one time and said that there were so many people that applied to be a kidney donor that they had to turn people away and tell them, ‘Let’s hold off for a second,’ which is pretty remarkable,” Sam said.
“I think we became a little notorious within the transplant team at [the University of Alabama-Birmingham] for how many folks they were having to look through and evaluate as potential donors,” Dominic recalled.
The wrestling community responded in droves to help Latona, who has helped give so much to others through the sport.
“It was very humbling, and touching just to see how much people cared,” Latona said while holding back tears.
Throughout the rounds of extensive testing, one potential donor kept meeting the criteria: Robie. He had a feeling from the beginning that he would be Latona’s eventual donor.
“I had a very strong calling that I was going to be able to donate and that was part of the plan for me,” Robie said. “That’s the way I approached it. I was very open to it and once I made the decision to do it, I never wavered or turned back or thought twice about it.”
When Robie called Latona with the good news, it was an euphoric moment. Two longtime friends realizing the uniqueness of what happened.
“The odds of everything happening that way are so crazy, you can’t even get your mind wrapped around it,” Latona said.
Speechless in the life-changing moment, he couldn’t find the appropriate words to convey his gratitude to Robie.
“‘Norm, the kind of person you are makes it easy to do it,’” Latona recalled Robie saying.
“Tony, I appreciate that, but what you’re doing I think has a hell of a lot more to do with the kind of person you are than the kind of person I am,” Latona replied.
Four months later, the pair underwent successful surgery at the University of Alabama Birmingham and are going through recovery day by day.
Throughout the journey, both men continued to lead others in their life, offering lessons and support to those close to them.
Frequently during his search, Latona would check in with his family, encouraging them to have faith during such a scary time in their lives.
“The biggest thing I learned from my dad was to live in the moment,” Sam recalled. “Obviously, with all of this stuff going on, it was hard for him, and I remember him texting me every once and a while saying, ‘This is God’s plan.’”
Even during a time where his life was in jeopardy, Latona made sure to take care of those he loved, and he’s passing down that compassion for others to his three sons.
Hokie Club