The masters plan

I wanted to write this yesterday but I didn't have the time. So I will write it today.

Three years ago yesterday we received the greatest gift ever. This gift was given to us unselfishly and anonymously. This gift had no strings attached and we were to receive this gift with the most grateful hearts that anyone could have. It was the gift of an organ, the gift of life.

As we know Kayden was born with hypoplastic kidney, or small kidneys. They stopped growing in utero. He went through a lot the first two years of his life. He had to take numerous medications like growth hormones, because kidneys help you grow; salt, because your body needs salt and his kidney filtered it out; epogen injection, his kidneys stopped producing a hormone called erythropoetin that produced red blood cells and we had to give those red blood cells to him aritificially; and of course he had a feeding tube because he never wanted to eat.

I vividly remember giving him his medications (specifically his growth hormone shot) and thinking after tomorrow I won't have to do this anymore. This is the last time I have to give him an injection. We were also told that even though he would be better from his transplant we were really only trading one set of issues for a different set of issues. At the time I didn't understand exactly what they meant by that but now I do.

We had to be at the hospital at 6 am on November 14 to get ready for surgery. They figured he would go in for surgery around 8 a.m. but it all depended on the donors family. Things had not been finalized so we were really waiting on them. As it came closer to 10 the nurses and docs came in and said it would be longer since it was taking longer on the donor side of things. The didn't know how long but they would let us know. We had to keep that little 2 year old entertained all day long. The one good thing about him having kidney failure is that he never really got hungry but he did want to have a drink and they allowed him a few sips every once in a while but not a lot. It was a really long day but finally at 4 p.m. they came in and said that it was time. I carried him to the operating room and then our child life specialist carried him the rest of the way. She was going to stay with him for a while. She took our camera and got some pictures of him before the surgery in the operating room. She also got the coolest picture ever of the kidney that would be going inside him.

Kayden was in surgery for about 4 hours. They kept me posted on how he was doing and his status during the surgery. I remember them telling me that the kidney was in and that it fit perfectly and that as soon as they got it in it started working right away. It was as if that kidney was meant for him. I was so blessed and so grateful for what we had been given.

I tried to get as much information as I could about the donor but due to HIPPA regulations they were not able to give me much information. But this is what I did get out of them: the donor was a 17 year old who had been in a car accident. It was a local resident and the family was at the University hospital. The surgeon that harvested the organs from the donor was the same surgeon who put the organ into Kayden. I had many mixed emotions that day. I was SO EXCITED that my son was getting a transplant but I also was so sad for the family that was losing their loved one. I was torn between being happy and feeling sad. I didn't know if it was ok to be happy for someone else to lose their child so that mine could live. It was wrong but so right. I hope that they understand why we were so happy in their time of sorrow.

Kayden was officially listed on the transplant list on November 7, 2006. We received a call from our transplant coordinator on November 13, 2006 and he was transplanted on November 14, 2006. He had been listed for a total of 7 days. Kayden's blood type was AB so he is considered the universal recipient. Because of this and the fact that he was 2 years old at the time put his name higher on the transplant list.

When Kayden went in for his surgery his creatinine level was 2.6. His whole life he had never had a creatinine level lower than 2.0. The next morning after his surgery his creatinine level was at .4. He had never had that good of kidney function his whole life until that point. Today his level is around .3 to .5 depending on what has been happening.

I have felt from the start of this whole experience that his kidneys failing when it did was for a reason. When I found out I was pregnant our dietician told me now lets hope that Kayden kidney will last until that baby is born. I thought of course it will he has been hanging in there already and I figured we had a few years before he would need a transplant. Well, the moment he hit the weight that was required for transplant which was 23 pounds was the moment his kidneys started to get worse. This started in August, but in the meantime I had to have a baby. So we did the blood work and all the prep and we were waiting until I had my baby to put him on the transplant list because they knew he would come up fast on the list. I had Koy on October 10 and we waited until the end of the month for me to recover before we were told to list him. He was listed on November 7 and transplant on November 14. He was just over 2 years old and I had a 1 month old baby with me.

I also feel that the Lord's hand was in the whole thing. I have often felt like the kidney that Kayden received was from someone that he knew in the spirit world. I feel like that person and Kayden had a special bond and that kidney was always meant for Kayden. I am always reminded of this story:

"I found my friend

The following event took place in a ward in Salt Lake City in 1974. It occured during Scarament Meeting and was told to me by a Regional Representative of the twelve, who was in the meeting. A young man, just before leaving on his mission, stood in Sacrament Meeting and bore, in essence, the following testimony. "My Brothers and Sisters, as you know, during the past few weeks I have been awaiting my mission call. During the time I was waiting I had a dream I was in the pre-existence and was awaiting my call to come to earth. I was filled the same excitment and anticipation that I had before I received my mission call. In my dream, I was talking to a friend. He was a very dear friend, and I felt a special closeness to him, even though I've never met him in this life. As we talked, a messenger came and gave me a letter. I knew it was my call to go to earth. In great excitment my friend and I opened the letter I gave it to him and asked him to read it aloud. The letter said: You have been called to earth in a special time and to a special land. You will be born into the true church, and you will have the priesthood of God in you home. You will be raised with many advantages and many blessings. You will be born in a land of plenty-a land of freedom. You will go to earth in the United States of America. "My friend and I rejoiced as we read my call. And while we rejoiced, the messenger returned. This time he had a letter for my friend. We knew it was his call to earth. My friend gave me the letter to read aloud. The letter said: You have been called to go to earth in circumstances of poverty and strife. You will not be raised in the true church. Many hardships will attend your life. Your land will be frought with political and social difficulties which will hinder the word of the Lord. You will be born in Costa Rica. We wept, my friend and I as we read his call. And my friend looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "when we are down on earth, you in your choice land and me in Costa Rica, my friend, come and find me." Then this young missionary, with tears in his own eyes, said, "Brothers and Sisters, I have received my mission call. I am going to Costa Rica. There is a special sequel to this story. About a year after this Sacrament Meeting, the Bishop to this Ward received a letter form the Missionary in Costa Rica. The letter had one sheet of paper in it, and on the sheet was written in inch-high letter four word: I FOUND MY FRIEND."

I often think that this is something that happened with Kayden and his donor. That they knew each other before hand and that they were best friends. That Heavenly Father knew this and planned everything accordingly. It was all part of the master plan. How grateful I am for that master plan. I may be completely wrong but I often get that comforting feeling when I think of this.

If you want to see some pics go to this post and scroll all the way down to the bottom.

Once Again, What is so special about tomorrow

Tomorrow is this little guys birthday. And you can let the sweetness and cuteness capture your heart because his is not a facade.

Kayden was my only one out of all my kids that I actually went into labor with. His actual due date was on November 5 but Kayden made his debut on October 13. At first he wouldn't cry, but after sticking a tube down his nose to suck out is lungs he decided to cry. The ironic thing about his due date being on November 5 is that was actually the day we were given a diagnosis of hypoplastic kidneys.

Kayden is such a sweet heart. He has been through so much in his short life and he enjoys life to the fullest. We have had an NG tube, a G-tube, GJ tube, growth hormone injections, epogen injections, 24 hour feeds from the time he was 9 months old until just before his 2nd birthday, a hiatal hernia, 9 different medications at one time, a Nissen Fundoplication, mastoiditis, and a Kidney transplant all in his little 5 years of life.

Kayden still struggles with eating. His favorite thing to eat is cinnamon sugar toast, eggos, fried shrimp, eggs, strawberry milk, strogonoff, McDonalds hamburgers and the crust off of pizza. He is leaps and bounds above where he was just three years ago. He still uses his tubie at night for calories that he doesn't get during the day and for his medications that he takes.

Kayden has the biggest heart and he is the sweetest kid. He also has the softest heart and his feelings get hurt often. He is a mommy's boy and I admit that I tend to give into him more than I should. He amazes me everyday at what he can do. There are times when I don't think he can do something and he proves me wrong. Lately he has become a master at the Star Wars Lego game on the Wii. He will play that thing for hours and he figures out how to get past a level and move on. There are a lot of things that he would not be doing if it was left up to me because I simply would be more of a hinderance to him than anything. I truly look at him running and playing and simply start to cry because I NEVER thought that he would do that a mere 3 years ago. I watch him ride his bike in pure amazement at how much he has overcome to get there. For the first two years of his life it literally caused him pain to put weight on his little legs and when he crawled he had to make sure that he didn't pull his tubie out by kneeling on the tube and he could only go so far until the tube was stretched to the max.

He loves Star Wars, GI Joe, Transformers, Toy Story and Spongebob. He loves to play with Koy and those two have a love hate relationship.

And he says and does the funniest things once he gets past his shyness.

He is my hero for all that he has triumphed through. When I have to have my blood drawn I think of him and if he can do it without crying so can I. When I have to have a shot I think of him and what he has been through. I look at him and see this little 5 pound baby laying in the hospital bed at Primary Children's in kidney failure just wanting to get better and wanting his mom to make things better but I couldn't do anything for him but feed him, love him, and administer to his needs for 2 years until that wonderful day when someone willingly gave my baby something I couldn't. The chance to turn 3, 4, and now 5. How grateful I am to that anonymous family. They gave me the chance to have my little boy grow up to be a big strong little boy.

Please, if you aren't an organ donor, sign up today so that there will be other little kiddos like Kayden who can have a second chance at life.

2 years and still going strong

Today is the anniversary of one of the best things that has happened to our family.

It actually all began on November 13 when we received the call saying that there was a kidney available for Kayden and I was told to head up to Salt Lake because there was suppose to be a big storm coming in. So I hurried and grabbed the things that we would need for at least a week since Thanksgiving was fast approaching and I was hoping that we would be home. I don't know how to explain the feelings that I had when I received that call. I was looking forward to that call every single time that the phone would ring for 7 days and when it finally came I could not believe it. I was so excited and adrenaline took over. I called those that needed to know and then when I was done spreading the news I was able to release and just sit down and cry. My son was going to be getting the greatest gift ever from someone that we did not even know. I was so thankful, scared, sad, excited, nervous everything all in one. It is so hard for me to explain the feeling that I had when we received that call and to know that this was actually going to happen. It was like a dream and I was so scared that something was going to happen and we would not able to get the transplant, but that was not the case.


The night of the 13th was the last night that I had to give my child the medications that were doing what his kidneys were suppose to be doing. It was the last night that I gave him his growth hormone. It was the last night that I gave him his epogen shot that he hated and screamed when he got it. It was the last night that his body would be using his native kidneys with the really crappy function that they had. His kidneys would no longer need to work so hard.


We arrived at the University of Utah Hospital on the morning of November 14 at 6 a.m. and were taken to be prepped for surgery. And as everyone who was there knows that we waited forever!!!!!!! To make a really long day short we were suppose to have surgery first thing in the morning but we were not taken back for surgery until 4 p.m. I walked Kayden down the hall to the O.R and turned my child over to the doctors to perform a life saving operation.


I had mixed emotions all day long. Here my son was getting a chance at life and yet there was some family who was suffering the loss of a loved one. This family was suffering and mine was celebrating and I had such inner turmoil that I had to just focus on Kayden. What information that I did have was it was a teenager from the Salt Lake area who had been in a car accident. On one hand I was looking at a 2 year old toddler who had just learned to walk and in another room in that same hospital was a family who was saying goodbye to their teenager and making the hardest decision of their life. Both our life and theirs would be connected and changed for the rest of our lives. I will forever be thankful to that family for what they gave to us that day. They gave my son something that I couldn't give him at birth....a healthy kidney.


The surgery took 5 hours. The surgeons told me the kidney was a perfect fit and as soon as it was in it turned pink and started functioning. His creatinine level prior to transplant, the level that doctors measure your kidney function by, was around 2.6 with less than 10% kidney function. After transplant his creatinine levels were down to .4. His levels had never been that low in his life and he was starting down a journey that 2 years later we have never regretted.


I sit here looking at a healthy 4 year old little boy running around with spiderman underwear on his head pretending that he is spiderman and thinking about how I never dreamed that he would be doing some of the things he is doing now. I have been crying all morning thinking about how blessed I am. Words can never express the joy and gratitude that I have for that family and I think the only thing that will ever truly show it will be the tears that I shed when I think about the gift that they gave us and the many smiles that Kayden gives to me. Their decision that day saved 10 peoples lives and impacted even more. There is a special place in my heart for them.


Here are some pictures. Warning......they do show a human organ. But it is the most precious human organ ever received.

Transplant List

When I got to work lastnight I realized what the date was and it dawned on me that it was two years ago yesterday that we listed Kayden on the National Transplant list for him to receive a new kidney. After months of waiting it seemed like that day would never come. In the back of my mind I always knew that we would put his name on the Transplant list but we tried looking for a family donor first and then we decided to put his name on the list with all the doctors encouraging. Because of Kayden's blood type he was considered a universal recipient and they knew that his name would not be on the list for very long.

After putting his name on the list I had to make sure that I carried a phone with me at all times so that they could contact me the moment they had a possibility. Well, six days after he was listed I got the call off my dreams. Some wonderful family was willing to donate their childs organs. Amid the suffering that they were going through they were willing to look beyond themselves and think of others and they will forever be thought of and blessed for their sacrifice.