{"id":250,"date":"2009-01-29T16:07:45","date_gmt":"2009-01-29T21:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pelhammedlock.com\/?p=250"},"modified":"2009-01-29T16:07:45","modified_gmt":"2009-01-29T21:07:45","slug":"check-out-the-front-page-of-the-post-courier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pelhammedlock.com\/?p=250","title":{"rendered":"Check Out The Front Page Of The Post & Courier"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0
\nMan\u2019s final gift saved others\u2019 lives<\/strong><\/span>
\nOrgan recipient: Bissell \u2018is still alive through us\u2019<\/p>\n

By Ron Menchaca – contact Ron at http:\/\/www.charleston.net\/staff\/ron_menchaca\/contact\/<\/a>
\nThe Post and Courier
\nMonday, January 26, 2009<\/p>\n

Pelham Medlock Jr. stood solemnly near the City Market. He bowed his head and quietly prayed as carriage horses clopped past and tourists bustled through the heart of Charleston\u2019s visitor hub.<\/p>\n

He stared at the pavement near the corner of North Market and Anson streets earlier this month, whispering prayerful thanks to a man he never knew.
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nPolice still do not know the identity of the man Shawn Bissell struggled with before he died two years ago.<\/p>\n

Shawn Bissell\u2019s life ended at this spot two years ago in what police consider a freak accident. It left him unconscious and brain-dead but preserved his healthy organs.<\/p>\n

Although questions still linger in Bissell\u2019s death \u2014 his fatal fall came, in part, at the hands of an unidentified man police couldn\u2019t locate \u2014 his family\u2019s decision to donate his organs gave Medlock and others new lives.<\/p>\n

Medlock was dying from a non-alcohol-related form of cirrhosis when the phone in his Upstate home rang Jan. 28, 2007. It was his wife\u2019s birthday, and she was opening presents. But the news on the other end of the line announced a gift for him: a new liver.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell myself that this was God\u2019s will,\u201d said Medlock, a former arson investigator in Anderson County. \u201cShawn had done what God sent him here to do, and for whatever reason, my time is not yet done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Medlock, who has struck up an e-mail connection with Bissell\u2019s sister, Rita Batten, still travels to Charleston regularly for check-ups. After his appointments at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he received the transplant, he heads for the City Market, to pray. \u201cI often wonder what people around me think. I guess I don\u2019t care. It\u2019s the part of the trip I look forward to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Saving others
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Barbara Melvin\u2019s kidney was failing from a disorder, and the Fayetteville, N.C., woman\u2019s wait for a donor was estimated at five years. She was steeling herself to begin grueling dialysis treatments when the call came out of the blue. It was Jerry and Rita Batten calling, a couple she\u2019d known for years through her work as director of the North Carolina Indian Housing Authority.<\/p>\n

To offer tips<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you have any information concerning the Jan. 27, 2007, scuffle in the Charleston City Market that led to the death of Shawn Bissell, call Charleston police at 843-577-7434 or Crime Stoppers at 843-554-1111.<\/p>\n

Batten\u2019s younger brother, Bissell, had died in a fall in Charleston. The Battens knew Melvin was very sick. They wanted her to have one of Shawn\u2019s kidneys.<\/p>\n

Melvin thinks that accepting the gift came with a sacred duty to share her life with Bissell\u2019s family. \u201cI feel close to him even though I never knew him. He is still alive through us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

An unidentified man in his 50s received Bissell\u2019s heart. Another person received his other kidney.<\/p>\n

Seeing the joy that Shawn Bissell\u2019s final gift brought to others helps Batten deal with the loss. She helped raise him, coddled him to sleep when he was colicky.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helped me tremendously with the pain of losing him. Now I have people I can talk to who are so exceedingly grateful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But she still struggles to understand Bissell\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Lingering questions<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was just after 2 a.m. Jan. 27, 2007. The downtown bars had just closed and people poured onto the sidewalks.<\/p>\n

Bissell and a friend were leaving a bar near the City Market when they heard a man and woman arguing nearby. Bissell tried to intervene on the woman\u2019s behalf. The other man told Bissell to mind his own business. Both men raised their fists and clashed near the sidewalk. Bissell stumbled backward in the scuffle. His head struck the pavement. He lay motionless as onlookers gathered.<\/p>\n

The Charleston police officer who took the call left the scene 21 minutes later. He took only one witness statement, never located the mystery man in the scuffle and turned away other witnesses who offered their own accounts.<\/p>\n

In February 2007, after The Post and Courier inquired about the department\u2019s handling of the case and located new witnesses, investigators renewed efforts to find the mystery man and any witnesses they might have overlooked. But those efforts did not turn up any new details, and the Solicitor\u2019s Office later decided no crime had been committed.<\/p>\n

Police said this week that they still don\u2019t know the identity of the man Bissell struggled with or the woman Bissell tried to protect. Bissell\u2019s case is closed pending any new information or witnesses, police public information officer Charles Francis said.<\/p>\n

Bissell\u2019s childhood friend, David Alexander, always figured someone would come forward. Maybe his friend\u2019s death still would be ruled an accident, but knowing more details might bring Bissell\u2019s family closure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that the girl would come forward. Shawn was trying to defend her. He basically died for her. How do you go through life knowing somebody gave their life for you?\u201d Alexander said.<\/p>\n

Medlock and Melvin know exactly what that\u2019s like.<\/p>\n

Reach Ron Menchaca at rmenchaca@postandcourier.com<\/a> or 843-937-5724<\/p>\n

Read the Story on-line at<\/em><\/span>:<\/span><\/strong> Man\u2019s final gift saved others\u2019 lives<\/span><\/a><\/strong> (Monday, January 26, 2009)<\/span><\/p>\n

My thanks to Ron for his interest in the story and even 2 years later still asking questions and seeking the truth.<\/p>\n

May God Bless All of You,
\nPelham,
\nPel,
\nLightning<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Man\u2019s final gift saved others\u2019 lives Organ recipient: Bissell \u2018is still alive through us\u2019 By Ron Menchaca – contact Ron at http:\/\/www.charleston.net\/staff\/ron_menchaca\/contact\/ The Post and Courier Monday, January 26, 2009 Pelham Medlock Jr. stood solemnly near the City Market. He bowed his head and quietly prayed as carriage horses clopped past and tourists bustled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelhammedlock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelhammedlock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelhammedlock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelhammedlock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelhammedlock.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pelhammedlock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253,"href":"https:\/\/pelhammedlock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions\/253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelhammedlock.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelhammedlock.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelhammedlock.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}