'I'm Hopeful': Express News Group's Managing Editor Seeks Live Kidney Donor

Stepping into the newsroom at 135 Windmill Lane in Southampton on deadline is like walking into a bustling hive — the buzz of reporters calling sources and writing stories while editors piece together The Express News Group’s four newspapers and keep its website current.

At its helm, second in command, is Bill Sutton. As managing editor and director of digital media, he is a leader, a guiding light and a champion of local journalism — a pillar of strength in an ever-changing media landscape.

But in recent years, he has carried that strength into his personal life, which he has not broadcasted. He typically enjoys a quieter, calmer pace and privacy.

The only reason he is going public now is because his life could depend on it.

“It’s cathartic, because it’s just not a secret anymore,” he said last week from his home in Riverhead. “It was never really a secret, but it felt like a secret, and now it’s great to let everybody know because the support is just really nice.

“If it’s just a fist bump in a newsroom, and a ‘How you feeling, how you doing?’ that’s great,” he continued. “But it’s that yin and yang, because I don’t want to be the sick guy.”

Last year, Sutton was diagnosed with kidney disease and, earlier this month, began dialysis, joining a list of over 90,000 patients standing by for a transplant in the United States. The average wait time for an organ from a deceased donor is three to seven years, he explained, which leaves the 56-year-old in a holding pattern unless a live donor steps in.

“I’m hopeful,” he said. “I’m hopeful that I can get a transplant and that that will extend my time here. Because I just don’t feel like I’m done. I feel like there’s more to do.”

Sutton landed on the East End in 1999 as a rookie reporter for The Southampton Press Western Edition under longtime editor Michael Pitcher. While studying at Syracuse University, he had dreamed of working for big newspapers in New York City, he said, but once he visited Long Island — not realizing the stark difference between the two when he first applied for the role — there was no turning back.

“I took the job and I loved it,” he said. “I loved being a reporter. And the rest was history.”

As a journalist, Sutton was no longer introverted and shy, he said. Instead, he led with a newfound confidence in both himself and community journalism.

He worked his way up to managing editor and helped usher the organization into the digital age. In 2016, he earned his master’s degree in communication and media studies from S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at his alma mater, Syracuse University.

“I’ve seen the decline of newspapers over the years, but I think we’ve held steady in our role and what we do,” he said. “And I’m saddened by the decline of newspapers, but I know that we’re forever going to have a role in what we’re doing, and I want to help be on the front lines of maintaining that.”

It was about two and a half years ago when Sutton’s endocrinologist, who has treated his type 2 diabetes and hypertension, suggested that he see a nephrologist after his kidney levels spiked. A battery of tests followed.

“Bottom line, he said, ‘Your kidneys are failing,’” Sutton recalled. “And it was a shock.”

His kidneys, his doctor reported, were functioning at 15 percent each. Today, they are down to about 10 percent and, at some point, they will both completely fail, Sutton explained.

“He said, ‘We probably want to get you in touch with the transplant team over at Stony Brook,’” Sutton said. “And that was the first time he had said the word ‘transplant,’ which was a very, very scary word at the time.”

Now, it has new meaning, he said. “It’s a hopeful word — I don’t want to get emotional,” he said, his voice hitching. “It’s a very hopeful word now, because the alternative is mortality.”

About a month ago, Sutton said he felt unbearably sick and unable to breathe. He’d had surgery in October to create a fistula in his arm, which connected a vein and an artery to facilitate dialysis. But he couldn’t wait long enough for it to mature, he said, and went to the hospital.

His medical team placed a hemodialysis catheter in his chest and started emergency dialysis.

“I was just tired all the time,” he said. “I was falling asleep driving in the car on the way to work because you’re so exhausted. Your body is so full of poison, your body’s just trying to shut you down.”

Over the course of two days, his medical team removed 6 liters of fluid — “I was just a big water balloon,” Sutton said — cementing that dialysis was now unavoidable.

“I look back on it now and I’m, like, ‘I feel so much better, I should have started sooner,’” he said. “But I think it was good, because it helped me to be strong and to push forward, and I did not let it dictate my life.

“And I’m trying to keep that attitude, even with the dialysis,” he continued. “I’m just going to keep pushing forward and keep pushing forward and try not to let it get the better of me.”

Three days a week, Sutton wakes before dawn. He lets out his dog, Penny, and leaves home by 5 a.m., heading for the dialysis center in Hampton Bays. The doors open at 6 a.m. and he settles into his chair, chatting easily with the nurses.

Three hours and 15 minutes later, he is finally on his way.

“It beats the alternative. It really does,” he said. “It’s saving my life, and it’s giving me a little bit of quality back that I was missing.”

When considering the road ahead, retirement is not front of mind, he said. He wants to keep his house and his dog. He wants to continue working.

“I’ve tried not to let my life change too much, although it’s in everything, it’s ever present,” he said. “Every waking thought has to do with my kidneys.”

Deciding to speak out did not come easily, Sutton explained. At the very least, he said he hopes to raise awareness about organ donation, which could save countless lives. The best-case scenario will ultimately save his.

“By doing this, I feel like I’m almost giving it power,” he said of speaking to the media. “I’m almost giving it voice. I’m almost giving it power over me — and I don’t want to do that. It feels almost like a loss of control, even though I think it’s exactly the opposite. It’s taking control and it’s saying, ‘This is who I am, and this is what I need.’ It’s hard for me.”

For those who are interested in getting tested to donate a kidney, Sutton urges them to call the Stony Brook Kidney Transplant Department at 631-444-2209, or visit stonybrookmedicine.edu/patientcare/transplant.

“You never know what could happen. The right person could see this — and miracles happen,” he said. “The sooner I get a kidney, the better. I’m patient. I will wait as long as I need to wait.”

He breathed out a sigh. “I’m trying to let people help me,” he said. “That’s a tough lesson to learn. And it’s tough to let go, but I need it. I need it now.”