April 2024 - 17

hunger to learn, he decided to flip the
script. He would become the student
rather than the teacher.
John's HIV-related conditions
re-emerged. Again, Andrew was by
John's side as John's health deteriorated
between 2004 and 2007: kidney
failure, HIV-related dementia, heart
complications and strokes. In 2007,
Andrew's life partner of more than 18
years died.
" When I lost my partner, my
friends just rallied behind me, " says
Andrew. " Since then, I've always
tried to be there for them. "
Andrew found bridge an " all-encompassing "
way to absorb his grief.
He threw himself into the national
events, finishing ninth in the Vanderbilt
and 11th in the Kaplan Blue
Ribbon Pairs.
" I have never gone into any game
thinking, 'We can't win this,' " he says.
A year after John's passing, leukemia
was the next challenge to come
hurtling Andrew's way.
" If you are going to get leukemia, "
he says, " I was lucky to get the best
kind. " Under the care of Memorial
Sloan Kettering in Manhattan, he
was prescribed a medication that
successfully treats 90% of patients
with his type of leukemia.
Between 2008 and 2011, Andrew's
bridge results continued to show his
growth. Most notable was his team's
third-place finish in the Reisinger
Board-a-Match at the 2010 Orlando
NABCs.
But in October 2011, the leukemia
medicine lost its magic.
Andrew's doctor told him, " Next
Monday, we're going to put you in
the hospital and we're going to do
chemo. "
" So I called everyone I know and
told them what Sloan Kettering told
me, " Andrew says. " The next day, my
doctor called me back and said they
have a later generation of the medication
in clinical trials and that we
would try that rather than the chemo.
It felt like an 80-pound bag of rocks
had been lifted from my shoulders. It
was amazing! "
" I know what your next question is
going to be, " said his doctor, " and no,
you can't go to Seattle. "
" So I missed the Seattle nationals, "
Andrew says. " I took the medicine,
which wasn't as effective as we had
hoped, and by the time there was a
clinical trial for the subsequent generation,
I was too late. In April, I had
a stem cell transplant. "
Needing a donor, Andrew asked his
brother if he would test for compatibility.
He did, and the brothers were
a match. Their time together in the
hospital and the lifesaving treatment
brought the brothers closer.
Andrew measures his life after
John largely in terms of nationals. He
missed Seattle (fall 2011) per doctor's
orders. Then - because he was
being monitored for radiation/chemo
complications and graft-versus-host
disease and because he had to stay
away from crowds to avoid infection
- he missed all of 2012. He flips the
calendar pages: " No spring, no summer,
no fall. " Later in the year, loaded
up on immunosuppressive medications,
" I would play at the club with
Bjorn [Fallenius], Uday [Ivatury] and
Cristal [Henner] when there were no
games, " Andrew says. " I really, really
appreciated them for that. "
Joyously, Andrew returned to the
nationals in spring 2013. He made it
to the third day of the Platinum Pairs
playing with Fallenius.
Andrew assembled a formidable
Vanderbilt squad. " We made it to the
semifinal of the Vandy, " says Andrew.
" Normally when your team is
losing, you feel sick. We were getting
crushed, but I was so excited just to
be there. "
" You can tell a lot about people
when things go wrong, " says Silverstein.
" I've never seen Andrew
complain or say a cross word to an
opponent. Never once did he complain
or make excuses even when he
was dealing with stem-cell rejection
medications. "
" Andrew is a great partner and
teammate, " says Rosenberg. " If the
team's results aren't good, Andrew's
focus is on how he personally played
and what he could have done better.
He doesn't complain about opponents,
playing conditions or other
potential excuses. "
" This is a game, " Andrew emphasizes.
" If I'm not having fun, I should
be doing something else. "
The award selection committee
members are Weinstein, Steve Beatty
and Zia Mahmood. Administered
by the ACBL's Foundation for the
Preservation and Advancement of
Bridge, the sportsmanship award will
be presented during the ACBL Hall of
Fame banquet at the Summer NABC
in Toronto. 2
Previous Lazard Sportsmanship
Award winners:
2023 Fred Stewart
2022 Team Scotland: Anne Perkins,
Derrick Peden, Stephen
Peterkin, Jim Hay, Alex
Adamson, Samantha Punch,
Derek Sanders
2020 Dennis Bilde
2018 Lew Stansby
2017 Eddie Kantar
2016 Boye Brogeland
2015 Howard Weinstein
2014 Bob Hamman
2013 Benedicte Cronier and
Sylvie Willard
2012 Michael Kamil
2011 Betty Ann Kennedy
2010 Roy Welland
2009 Peter Boyd
2008 Giorgio Duboin
2007 Seymon Deutsch
2006 Ralph Cohen
2005 Nick Nickell
2004 Lynn Deas
2003 Larry Cohen
2002 Rose Meltzer
2001 Paul Soloway
April 2024 | Bridge Bulletin |
17
April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2024
