Hero - Bruce Cohen

When Ron Silberman met Bruce Cohen 28 years ago while their families were vacationing in Stuart, Fla., both were teenagers who had no idea how important that friendship would become.

On March 13, 2003 during a transplant procedure at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital in Weston, Cohen donated a kidney to Silberman, who had polycystic kidney disease. The genetic disorder had caused Silberman's kidneys to function at only 20 percent and to grow so large that they were displacing his internal organs. He was severely malnourished because he couldn't put solid food in his stomach anymore.

Silberman, 42, an air-conditioning technician who lives in Davie with his wife, Marla, and two daughters, Amy and Kelly, worked until September, 2002 when both kidneys were removed in preparation for the procedure. He underwent painful four-hour dialysis treatment at the DaVita-Pine Island Kidney Center in Plantation three times a week until the transplant.Silberman, who grew up in Kendall, would meet Cohen at the beach in Stuart every summer and managed to keep in touch all these years, attending each other's weddings and going on camping vacations together with their families. Cohen had known of his friend's kidney ailment for at least a decade and made the decision that someday he would donate a kidney when necessary. He even went to far as to tell his wife, Maureen, when they were going to get married.

In the past year, Cohen had seen his friend's health deteriorate. He saw his skin and face change color, and he knew his friend was weak. He said Silberman tried to discourage him from donating his kidney up until the day of the operation because he was worried for his friend's health.

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