National Organ Donation Month

April is National Organ Donation Month. If you are not a donor, why not? If you are a donor, why?

Let me tell you why I AM a donor.

My son was born with hypoplastic kidneys. His kidneys were only 2 cm at birth. A normal newborn's kidney's are 5 cm. When he was three weeks old he was in Kidney Failure. He was admitted to American Fork Hospital with a diagnosis of Failure to Thrive and then later admitted to PCMC with Kidney Failure. He was a sick little boy.

We found out about his condition through many blood tests and a wonderful Nurse Practitioner who thought of every little thing. When his blood tests came back with a Creatinine level around 3.8 (normal is less than 0.5 for a newborn) they knew that something serious was going on.

While at PCMC we met our new doctor, Dr. Raoul Nelson. This man would become our lifeline and our best friend in the days, weeks, months and years ahead. We also met our dear friend and wonderful dietician, Cindy! We were told in our meeting about the condition that Kayden had. We needed to get his kidneys working properly by getting him hydrated and on the correct food.

He was put on a new formula and some medications. When he was 3 months old he received an NG tube (this is a tube that goes up your nose and down into your stomach). This is because every ounce that he got was a struggle. He would eat really good for about 5 minutes and then he would be so tired that he would not be able to finish the bottle. He ate an ounce every hour. When the NG tube was placed, this was the moment that I had to face the fact that something was wrong with my child. Up until this point he had a problem that we couldn't see but now with the NG tube taped to his face I had to admit there there was a problem He was on an NG tube until he was 6 months old when it was decided that he would never be able to sustain himself on his own and a g-tube was placed. This was one of the BEST decisions that we ever made.

Kayden suffered from reflux really bad. We had to place a GJ tube so that his food could completely bypass his stomach and enter directly into his jejunal so that he could not throw his food up. This was done at a time when his development was being effected because of his poor nutrition. We were on everysingle reflux medication that you could be on. Nothing would help this poor baby stop vomiting until he got the GJ tube.

Kidney failure not only effects the kidneys, but it also effects your growth, your ability to produce red blood cells, your bones, your eating, your blood pressure and many more things. Kayden did not learn to crawl until he was over the age of one and when he did crawl he crawled with one leg sticking out so that he would not step on his tube and pull it out. He also did not walk until after he was 2 years old. For Kayden standing up on his legs caused actual pain. His bones were not absorbing the calcium like they should have so this was caused problem with his bones.

Kayden was on growth hormones starting at age 1 and he also started a drug called Epogen when he was 1 years old. Both of these medications were given through injections that I had to administer to him. He was o.k. with the growth hormone, but he HATED the Epogen.

Kayden endured many blood draws to check his kidney function. About two months before Kayden's second birthday his kidney function started decreasing rapidly and it was decided that it was time for him to receive a transplant. We attended the required doctors visits and seminars and were told what options we had. We could have a live donor or a deceased donor.

Our first thing that we needed to find out was Kayden's blood type. We found out that his blood type is AB. This is a good thing since a person who has this blood type is considered a universal recipient. They can receive an organ from absolutely anybody. This blood type is very rare and it was very excited for everyone involved when he found this out. We had been discussing having a family member be a donor. But things never really worked out with anyone and our doctors explained that with his blood type and his age, if we put him on the national list, his name will come up very quickly and could receive a new kidney even before we could process and find a live donor.

We decided that we would put Kayden's name on the list to be considered for a new kidney. We filled out the paper work and he was officially listed on the list on November 7. We received a call on November 13, just 6 days later, saying that a kidney was available for Kayden and we needed to head up to the U of U. Kayden went into surgery and received his new kidney on November 14, 2006 at 4 p.m at the University of Utah hospital. The kidney was a perfect fit and started working immediately.

This kidney was the best gift that we could have EVER received. NOTHING could ever replace the gift that gave my child a chance to have a future.

We have been told that our donor was a teenager, about 17, who was killed in a car accident in the Salt Lake Valley. Due to privacy issues we do not know if it was a girl or a boy. We do know that the surgeon who performed the transplant on Kayden, also harvested the organs.

We love our donor family. I love our donor and their family. I had the hardest time when we had this transplant. I was so happy for my son, but I also knew that a family at the same time was losing a loved one. My feelings were so torn. I was happy and then I was sad. I actually got to the point where I had to consciously stop thinking about it because of the mixed emotions that was feeling. The saying "bitter sweet" never was more accurate than at this point in my life. I had to wait and think about it at a later time. I wrote a letter to our donor family expressing my love to them. Their strength and their willingness to allow their loved ones organs to be donated was the most selfless thing that anybody could ever do. Their love and sacrifice will always be remembered in my heart and in my mind. Kayden will always know that he received one of the greatest gifts that anybody could have ever given. I truly feel that this was our Heavenly Father's plan and it was fulfilled exactly how He wanted it done.

This is the main reason why I am a donor.

One more little story. When I was 12, I had a friend die from complications of diabetes. I was in the sixth grade and it was a really hard time for our class. When my friend died her mom and dad agreed to donate her organs.

The mother of this girl presented a book to me and some of my friends that had copies of journal entries, essays, inspirations thoughts and other items that we could read through to remember our friend. One thing that really stood out for me was a letter. It was a letter from the recipient of my friends kidney. This letter touched me when I was only 14 years old so much that I knew that I would be an organ donor. The love that this lady had for her life and to know that my friend helped save this ladies life was awesome. Little did I know as a 14 year old girl that my son would be the recipient of a kidney and that I would be on the other end of the picture and be the one who needed a life saved.