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I read a local article that has preyed on my mind recently. I was wondering what TLOers thought of this story. (I'll voice my opinion later).
Baby David Detwiler gets good news; kidney transplant approved
His parents discovered before his birth that their fourth child had no functioning kidney. They were told to terminate the pregnancy or carry the baby to term to potentially get a few minutes before he died because he would not have fully developed lungs to breathe. David survived birth and has undergone 12 hours of peritoneal dialysis at home each night, with the goal of a kidney transplant.
But there have been many struggles for David, who is named after a saying the Detwilers believe is powerful: “If God puts a Goliath in front of you, there must be a David inside of you.”
Last Thanksgiving, the family shared that David is blind in both eyes and has cerebral palsy.
Early Wednesday morning, he had a major seizure at home and had to be rushed to the hospital, where he had several more seizures. Doctors are unsure what caused these.
“This poor guy has spent every Thanksgiving at the hospital,” his mother said. David is being evaluated at the hospital, and while he’s extremely exhausted from the seizures, has shown his little personality by saying ”hi” and “thank you” to nurses, Carlla said.
Although he has been approved for an organ transplant, he is still a very high-risk kidney transplant patient. Patients with poorly formed lungs are at risk of lung issues that can lead to heart issues, heart failure, or death, the doctor said.
“In the first nine months after a kidney transplant, the patient is at higher risk of dying than on dialysis," he said. "They're having a major operation. They're having another organ sewed into their body. They're getting huge doses of immunosuppression, which sets them up to be at high risk for fungal infections, bacterial infections, and viral infections, and then they embark on lifelong immunosuppression. The immunosuppression has side effects.”
David is a toddler now. Though he is not physically or cognitively up to par with other toddlers, he is reaching his own milestones. For instance, he just rolled over on his own, which was a huge accomplishment, Carlla said.
“This amazing miracle has shown us his strength, fight, and determination since his very first breath,” his mother, Carlla Detwiler said. “He’s amazing and I am thankful for every single day that we have with him. He has taught me more in these last two and a half years than I have ever learned in my life."
Well, that's all that matters...
