The Church in Dialogue:

Survival Story: Robert Alan Glover

Robert Alan Glover knows what it is to need solidarity from within the Church. He’s a cradle Catholic, Michigan native and son of a blended family with a Native American adopted sister. An Air Force “brat” whose childhood took him to places including Montana, Spain and Japan, Glover has lived in Lexington since early 2017.

Here, as a Black Catholic and an organ transplant recipient, he knows how both communities are marginalized and often invisible. As a writer, he has covered beats including entertainment, business, courts, police and the construction industry. Since 2018, he has written full-time for Catholic media, finding multiple outlets for his voice — among them the diocesan publications in Nashville and Memphis, Catholic News Service and National Catholic Reporter.

Robert received a kidney transplant in late 2019. He’d waited over three years with UK before qualifying for the University of Cincinnati wait list after six months. He received the transplant 18 days later. He spoke with Cross Roads about his story of survival:

CR: What does living your Catholic faith in Kentucky mean to you?

Glover: We Black Catholics have not always felt welcome in our chosen church. As a reporter with the old Cincinnati Post, I lived in northern Kentucky from 2002 to late 2005 and was quite comfortable. Living here has been a challenge, and remember, I graduated from a Southern, “desegregated” Georgia high school. I also witnessed the seasonal, inhuman treatment of white migrant workers by their own people during “pickin’ time.”

In all honesty, these three years have tested my faith — and temper — considerably. Apart from the friends I have made in two churches — St. Peter’s and the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd — Lexington is, let’s face it, not what one expects of a large city with two universities and a host of other higher learning institutions.

I cannot attend St. Peter’s presently due to our bishop’s instructions regarding persons with medical conditions and age concerns. So I attend Mass at the Newman Center, which has no pews. My acquaintances number exactly two: Father Steve Roberts and my former care-giver, Glenn Gremillion.

CR: Tell us about your health crises that precipitated your transplant?

Glover: My diagnosis of kidney disease came on April 12, 2013, via a routine exam and blood draw. A consultation, biopsy and monthly office visits followed. I began taking the starter prescriptions for kidney patients not yet on dialysis. I kept the demon at bay for 2.9 years. Six months of preparation followed. My Florence physician credits an upbeat attitude and some “really bad jokes” with keeping me going for so long. During this time, in December 2015, I lost my part-Siamese cat to what vets said was, ironically, kidney disease.

The biggest crises involved — once dialysis began — the use of grafts, or fistulas, which are artificial implants that give one dialysis. There is also the chest access, which is a ticking time-bomb with severe time use limits. My first one was needed for six months, and I eventually had three others all go bad on me.

CR: What did this journey teach you that you’d like other people to know?

Glover: Plenty. For example, that more than two dozen people die nationwide daily waiting for some type of organ transplant. The number of available organs is less than the number we need. Everything must be a perfect match medically speaking, blood type, the recipient’s health history, age, etc.

I left behind too many people for whom their age is against them and either pre-existing conditions or other personal issues. I ask you to pray for them now; some will run out of time, and during my time on “the chair,” many did.

I also learned that kidney disease is not a death sentence. Great progress has been made, but unfortunately some people are sicker than others. That said, too many other patients, upon hearing the words “it’s time to start dialysis,” convince themselves there is no hope, that they are going to die. And this is exactly what they do.

CR: What do more people need to realize about the experiences of Black Catholics and Black people in general?

Glover: I have always accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. Our mother and stepfather raised three smart, educated, drug-free Black men and an unwanted child. She taught us about the Holocaust when we were old enough to understand it.

Despite its centers of learning, Lexington is sadly behind the times — about 60 years behind. Black people are blamed for all of the crime and drugs, but let’s face it: who supplies and uses it most is questionable. We get more traffic tickets, according to a recent Lexington Herald-Leader article, but make up only 23 percent of the city’s population.

If Black people can worship as Baptists or Muslims, then there should be nothing strange about one who is raised Catholic — as my mother and her two siblings were in Detroit.

So I ask just one favor: Stop being afraid of me every Sunday. Because one day we will all — I hope — arrive at the same place. And we will all answer to the same God.

Watch a video testimonial on Robert's journey at:
https://youtu.be/HeGAD7BocEg