Wednesday, January 14, 2009

I Bet You Never Thought Of This

I thought I'd read every permutation of a bitter divorce over the years, but I was wrong:
Long Island doctor Richard Batista to estranged wife: Give me my kidney back or $1.5M
...The Long Island doctor wants the one-time love of his life to pay $1.5 million for the organ he bestowed on her eight years ago in a gift meant to save her life and their foundering marriage.

...Batista charged his wife, Dawnell, repaid his gesture by first sleeping with her physical therapist - and then denying him access to their three kids in an increasingly bitter divorce.

...After two transplants failed, her husband volunteered to donate one of his kidneys - and discovered he was a match, a 1-in-700,000 shot.

"I was the first and only one to step to the plate," the doctor recalled. Without his donation, Dawnell faced a long wait: There are 6,748 people awaiting kidneys in
New York State, the New York Organ Donor Network says.

...Batista said the ongoing ugliness began on day one of their divorce.

"She slapped me with divorce papers when I was in surgery trying to save another person's life," he fumed.

With a little tinkering, and not including the future murder-suicide that looks probable at this point, that whole story could be a Monty Python skit.

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