HAPPY ANNIVESARY MR HUDSON
this is an artist rendering of mr hudson in his first year of life
a quick review of his story
almost 6 years ago he was born in kidney failure and heart failure due to obstruction of his kidneys in utero
this obstruction was relieved right after birth but the damage was already done to his kidneys
soon a few days after delivery his heart failure resolved and his kidney function gradually improved but it never reached normal
he spent close to 2 months in the nicu until he grew enough and could eat enough to go home
over the next two years his kidney function waxed and waned and mostly waned so that weeks before his kidney transplant their function worsened to the point where it was either do kidney dialysis or do a transplant
a search for a live donated kidney was done
several relatives stepped forward and both parents and also a distant relatives wife psf
as it turned out the distant relatives wife was the best kidney match
later through some ancestry sleuthing it was determined that she actually had some long distance ancestry match to our family
here is him not long before his transplant
he was in advanced kidney failure
trying to get to 20 lbs so he would be big enough to accept an adult kidney
all of this happening in the middle of the covid pandemic
his first attempt for a transplant day was canceled due to the pandemic
months later they opened up for transplants again
a wealthy donor from here provided her a jet to fly psf from the east coast to the west coast so she would not get covid on a commercial flight
when the go for it was given it was not soon enough
mr hudson was on the throes of having to do dialysis
then
the greenlight was given to proceed
a crowdfunding site for pediatric transplants provided a source to raise money to be used for mr hudsons expenses beyond insurance coverage and is available for his use throughout his lifetime
it is used to pay for all the expenses not covered by insurance
this funding is available for all pediatric transplants
now 4 years later its being used some
the donor psf flew to los angeles via private jet safely and on that day 4 years ago she heroically gave mr hudson one her kidneys
her surgery was quick
his surgery took several hours
the new kidney kicked in immediately inside mr hudson
this kidney functioned well ie his creatinine level which was at the dialysis level gradually decreased to a normal less than 1 level and has remained there since
mostly
we have found out that mostly is common with kidney transplants
more below on that
after a week in the hospital with plans for discharge he spiked a fever which eventually was figured out to be a blood clot in his right upper arm from his pic line
he had to undergo over a week of iv heparin to dissolve the blood clot and a week of iv antibiotics
eventually after over 2 weeks he got to go home
the outward physical response was amazing
he went from a lethargic 2 year old to a typical energetic toddler
we all want to thank psf mr hudsons kidney angel
how it must feel to know that you made it possible for a young child to live and thrive with the donation of your kidney
its been 4 years now since he had his transplant
there have lots of ups and downs
mostly ups though
some downs though have been scary
the worst was 18 months ago
mr hudson has to take immunosuppressant drugs that keeps his body from attacking his kidney
the problem is that makes him susceptible to more infections than most kids his age
it mostly doesnt slow him down
during christmas time 18 months ago he got sick with a stomach bug that left him with a viral infection that he couldnt clear out
he lost a lot of weight and at one point his electrolytes were messed up that required a 5 day icu admission
this admission as i sat in the icu room with him one day i thought as i cried he is going to die and they arent going to be able to save him
he though has great kidney doctors that worked hard to make him better
he survived that admission and has mostly done well since then but recently had the infection return again
he recently spent 6 days in the hospital with pneumonia and dehydration again and had to have a kidney biopsy
he again lost a lot of weight
but
since that admission he has regained all his weight and is eating enough for 3 kids
the biopsy shows the kidney rejection is under control
he has to have iv immunogloublin called ivig infusions monthly for 6 months
these are antibodies to fight infection that many of yall donate when you donate blood that also fights rejection of the kidney
he also has to receive an infusion of an rheumatoid arthritis drug that suppresses his immune system which helps keep him from rejecting his kidney
the ivig helps fight off infections he normally would resist
none of this really slows him down
he played tball during all of this and loves baseball now
if you saw him at the park or the swimming pool or at school you would never know anything was going on with him
he still has to take in an adult amount of water each day
he cant drink enough so he uses a gtube to supplement his oral liquid intake
eventually when he gets bigger that can be removed
so
as of yesterday he is a happy healthy playful 5 year old soon to be a kindergartner who loves baseball swimming playing with friends star wars and all thinks little boys love
psf is our miracle kidney donor
she gave him life and will always be in our hearts for what she did
you go mr hudson
enjoy life
the organicgreen doctor
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