25 years after daughter donates organs, mom’s son receives kidney

[okarol]

The ultimate pay it forward
25 years after daughter donates organs, mom’s son receives kidney
Carol Johnson Hoosier Times
April 6, 2009
Story tools:

Email this story Send this story

INDIANAPOLIS

When Carmella Newton made the decision to donate her young daughter’s organs 25 years ago following her death from meningitis, she did it because it was the right thing to do. Like the gift that it was, she gave it unselfishly, expecting nothing in return.

She couldn’t imagine that the gift would become what her friend described as the ultimate “pay it forward.”

On March 25, Wyatt Newton, Carmella and Phil Newton’s 15-year-old son, received a new kidney. The Mitchell teen had been on the transplant list about six months. He is recovering at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.

Her son is still sore from the surgery, but knowing his new kidney will keep him off dialysis and extend his life has given the family new hope and made Carmella an even stronger advocate for organ donation.

“I just think everybody should be an organ donor. It’s crazy in my mind not to. Nobody knows when we’re going to die. To pass on your organs to let someone else live is how it should be, but I understand it’s hard for some people,” she said last week while keeping close to Wyatt in Indianapolis.

It was a matter of time until Wyatt’s kidneys began to fail. He was born two months premature when Carmella developed pre-eclampsia in her pregnancy. Wyatt’s kidneys had not fully developed and they began to fail soon after his birth. He was placed on dialysis, but fortunately they started functioning on their own. But they stayed the size of a newborn’s kidneys. Doctors told the family that at some point Wyatt’s kidneys would not be able to handle the needs of his growing body.

During the past few years, tests measuring Wyatt’s creatinine levels indicated that Wyatt’s kidneys were unable to filter his body’s toxins. A normal creatinine reading is 0.9, said Phil Newton, Wyatt’s father.

“His was a 10,” he said.

In October 2008, he was placed on a transplant list. Children are given preference on the wait list, said Phil, but the family remained cautiously optimistic.

“We were prepared that it could be a year or more of waiting,” said Wyatt’s dad. “We were thrilled to receive one relatively quickly.”

A week before the transplant, Wyatt’s kidneys stopped functioning and he started dialysis, which left him exhausted.

“My son had four dialysis treatments and every one was horrible,” said Carmella. “He was so sick. I thought, ‘How would he be able to make it?’ I hate it for the family that lost their child, but their decision has saved my son a lot of problems.

“We were at Riley for dialysis when the doctor came in and said, ‘I think we have a kidney for Wyatt,’” said Carmella. “It brought such a smile to his face.”

His parents said Wyatt has felt weak and lethargic for a couple of years. When he was younger, he attended Hatfield Elementary School. When going to school wore him out, they decided to homeschool him. Pretty soon, simple trips to the store were too much for him.

“He had to use a wheelchair for anything that had a lot of walking,” said Phil. “I bought him a mitt and baseball last year and he enjoyed throwing the ball back and forth, but after five or 10 minutes, he was pretty worn out. He’s been pretty inactive.”

Phil said Wyatt’s creatinine levels improved soon after surgery.

“He’s still not feeling too great, but his kidney is doing great,” said Phil. “His creatinine level is down to under 1.0.”

Wyatt will remain at Riley for at least two more weeks so doctors can monitor his progress and make sure there are no signs of rejecting the new kidney. It will be two or three months before he is fully recovered. While Wyatt is at Riley, the family is staying at the nearby Ronald McDonald House. Carmella and Phil are there along with their older daughter Breanna Endris. Besides staying close to Wyatt, the Newtons’ youngest grandson is at Riley.

“My grandson (whose parents are Drew and Lindsey Endris) was born February 15. He weighed 1 pound 9 ounces,” said Carmella. “Now he now weighs 2 pounds 12 ounces. It’s been quite the emotional roller coaster.”

Because Wyatt’s activities have been limited for such a long time, his parents say he hasn’t talked much about what he’d like to do once doctors clear him to pursue a normal life.

To pass the time, Wyatt has enjoyed watching wrestling on TV and playing video games. Alice Cooper is one of his favorite rock musicians and Wyatt met him in 2006 through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“He’s felt bad for so long, he doesn’t know what normal feels like. He’s so used to feeling lousy,” she said.

It will be a year before the Newtons can contact the donor family. Carmella and Phil hope the family will accept some contact. She knows well the loss they have suffered.

In the case of her daughter, Jessica Beretta Endris, Carmella never got to meet the little girl who received her daughter’s liver. She has always wondered how her life turned out: Is she healthy? Did she reject the liver?

“Her liver went to a 3-year-old girl in Kettering, Ohio,” she said.

The two families arranged a meeting, but the Ohio family had a change of heart, and Carmella never heard from them again. Carmella’s father, Lou Beretta, sent a certified letter to them, but they didn’t respond.

“I was very young at the time. I was 16,” she said. “Jessica died in 1984 the day after Christmas. She never got to open her Christmas gifts and I had wanted to give them to the little girl.”

http://www.reporter-times.com/stories/2009/04/06/news.qp-3945729.sto