A wheelchair sits folded near the front door.

It’s a constant reminder.

“There was a time I relied on that because I was too heavy and it was hard to walk,” said Bruce Altemus, 69. “I was too big and too sick to do much of anything. I never want to return to that condition. That’s why I keep it where I can see it.”

Altemus, who could barely stand two years ago, plans to run 3.1 miles on Sunday.

He’s registered for the 5K course in the Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race.

“That is a goal I set for myself,” said Altemus, who lives in Baldwin. “I am looking forward to it. If you would have seen me before, you never would have thought I could run a few steps, let alone three miles.”

He chose the Great Race because it’s an annual Pittsburgh tradition. It is also being held in person (as well as virtually).

The 5K begins at 8 a.m. in Oakland at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Atwood Street. The course is mostly downhill and finishes at Point State Park, Downtown.

The run is something Altemus could never have considered two years ago. He wasn’t eating right and didn’t exercise. He weighed 300 pounds. His legs were so swollen it was difficult to stand.

A trip to the emergency room discovered he had congestive heart failure, nonalcoholic cirrhosis of the liver and the beginning stages of kidney failure.

He made lifestyle changes and lost 120 pounds. He was put on the national transplant waiting list for a new liver.

On April 26, 2019, he received a liver at Allegheny General Hospital on Pittsburgh’s North Side. He wrote a thank you letter to the donor’s family.

Altemus was grateful for the second chance at life, and as part of his rehabilitation, he vowed to get up out of the wheelchair and walk. At first, he couldn’t make it 50 feet without tiring.

Now, he runs 10 miles a week and walks four miles — 10,000 to 12,000 steps each day — in the parking lot of the personal care home where he lives, Atria South Hills. The personal care home is supplying T-shirts to support Altemus’ team.

Funds raised through Altemus’ team’s GoFundMe support Hat’s Off to Ron, a nonprofit that provides financial help to lung and liver transplant patients at Allegheny General Hospital.

“When I cross the finish line, that will be one of my goals and then I will set another goal,” Altemus said. “I definitely won’t set any speed records. You have to exercise your mind and your body. I tell people all the time, don’t quit. The transplant team gave me a second chance at life. I was going to die.”

Altemus said the support of his family – his wife of 45 years Andrea, 70, and their children – has kept him going. He and Andrea moved to Pittsburgh from Johnstown five years ago when she suffered a stroke so they could be close to their son Aaron Altemus and his wife Alison, and their daughter Sara Waechter and husband J.D.

Aaron Altemus and J.D. Waechter and their friend Shane Putorek will run with Bruce Altemus on Sunday.

Courtesy of Allegheny Health Network Dr. Rachel Tindall, (left) abdominal transplant surgeon, and transplant coordinator, Michelle Nagy, participating in a previous 5K race. They will run in the 5K event at the Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race on Sept. 26 alongside a patient, Bruce Altemus of Baldwin.  

Seeing Altemus’ transformation has been wonderful, said Dr. Rachel Tindall, an abdominal transplant surgeon for Allegheny Health Network who performed Altemus’ transplant.

She said he was “really sick” when she first saw him. He would not have survived much longer without the transplant.

“He was walking and running and he looked great the last time I saw him,” said Tindall, who plans to run with Altemus. “I will be right beside him. Running is a wonderful activity and he has such a good mindset.”

Altemus said he doesn’t take anything for granted. He wants to be around to spend time with his two granddaughters and grandson due in November.

Members of the transplant team at Allegheny General also plan to run. Michelle Nagy, transplant coordinator, and her husband are running. Nagy’s mother had a liver transplant. Eileen Pistelli, another transplant coordinator, will walk the course.

Tindall said she told Altemus that recovery is more like a marathon, not a sprint.

Or, in Altemus’ case, maybe, more like a 3.1-mile run.

“For me, running in the Great Race is personal,” said Altemus, who keeps a size 52 belt he once wore to motivate himself. “I don’t want to go backward.”

Altemus often spins tunes at the personal care home. He loads the wheelchair with records and some equipment and takes it to the room where he is going to play music.

“That is the perfect use for the wheelchair,” Altemus said. “I keep it to carry my music and equipment, but also to remind me of where I was and how far I’ve come. So when I am done being a disc jockey, I fold up the wheelchair and place it by the door.”

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