happy anniversary mr hudson

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MR HUDSON

this is mr hudson planting a pumpkin in our pumpkin patch
about a month ago he planted this pumpkin seed in a pot in our greenhouse
yesterday he planted it in our patch
all by himself

today a day later is his 3rd anniversary
he had a kidney transplant from a generous donor 3 years ago

here is a review of his story for those who dont know it

late in the pregnancy it was noted he had kidney cysts
later it was decided he had blockage in the draining system from the kidneys

we wouldnt know how bad it was until he was born
mom was put at bed rest at home and eventually at the hospital
a month before he was due mom was transferred to cedar sinai hospital where they have a well known pediatric kidney specialist

he was delivered via caesarean section 
he was in heart failure and kidney failure when he was born
not long after birth a catheter was inserted which opened up the blockage
his kidneys began to drain ok however the damage was done
his kidney function was at about 30%

he spent about 2-3 months in the nicu 
overtime he lost all the retained fluid and his heart failure cleared up

luckily he lived off breast milk until he got older when a formula made just for kidney failure was used to supplement the breast milk
he was able to use breast milk till he was about 2 years old
thanks to his mom

interesting is that breast milk is the best formula to feed a child with kidney failure

he also received growth hormone shots since he wasnt producing enough to grow

he had to wait until he was about 20 lbs before he could have a kidney transplant which he reached at the age of two

his mom and several relatives and friends started a work up to see if they were compatible to donate a kidney to mr hudson


a distant cousins wife heard about mr hudson and contacted his mom to let her know she wanted to donate her kidney
as it turns out she was the best of all those tested to match with mr hudson

she is our kidney angel

the transplant was scheduled once but had to be canceled due to the pandemic

eventually the system said it was ok to transplant
thank goodness since his kidney function had deteriorated so he was about to go on dialysis

then they said ok we are ready

during the throes of the pandemic we were able to fly the donor via a private jet to keep her from getting infected

mr hudson was visibly not feeling well as it shows in the picture above
he seemed sad all the time and had a lack of energy

3 years ago today he had his transplant by his superwomen transplant surgeon
his stay was complicated by a blood clot in his rt arm from his pic iv line
he had to take a long course of antibiotics iv and a long course of heparin iv to dissolve the clot

eventually he was discharged
man
you could almost see him blossom day to day

he started to eat more play more talk more and become more like a 2 year old

now fast forward 3 years later
he is a typical almost 5 year old who loves legos and swimming and playing width ms b and his friends and going to school

he has a gtube in place so he can take in an adult amount of water since his kidney is an adult kidney 
he can only drink so much water himself
it will be removed eventually
he takes immunosuppressant drugs every day to keep from rejecting his kidney

last week he wanted to show his class how he waters his kidney so he did

his only major setback was a case of severe dehydration from a stomach virus that put him in icu for 4 days and 10 days in the hospital
otherwise he has been healthy 
he had covid once but did ok with the infection

he spent being isolated until he was 3 because of the pandemic and the fact he was immunosuppressed
he really hadnt been around many folks except for close relatives and close friends

now
he is much more outgoing loves to interact with folks and is quite an active almost 5 year old

a miracle boy is what we call him

happy anniversary mr hudson

the organicgreen doctor