Fremont man's kidney donation lets son lead normal childhoodBy Richard Nieva, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area
Article Last Updated:07/13/2007 02:37:46 AM PDT
FREMONT — Any father would like to think that a part of himself will always remain with his son. For Phillip Nesbitt, it is literally true.
About 31/2 years after Nesbitt donated a kidney to his son Myles, life has returned to normal. They celebrate the life-saving act every Dec. 8, the date in 2003 when Christmas came early for Myles, then 8 years old.
"It was a time to help someone who hadn't had the opportunity to live like I had," Nesbitt said. "I knew just looking at him."
Not long after Myles was born, doctors determined that only one of his kidneys was functioning, and it was operating at only 20 percent of capacity, Nesbitt said.
Doctors told the Nesbitts to take Myles home, enjoy the short time they would have with him, and love him as much as possible.
But even that was difficult. Myles was required to undergo surgery when he was 1 week old before the Nesbitts could even take him home.
Shortly afterward, the family was introduced to Dr. Sheldon Orloff of Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. Orloff worked hard to keep Myles alive, at one point referring the family to a hospice nurse who would visit the Nesbitt household several times a week.
The family's life became consumed with medical routines — doctors' appointments, medications and trips to thethe blood lab, Nesbitt said.
"It's taken a long time," he said. "Years were lost. We're just trying to catch up."
The turning point came when Orloff told them Myles would need a kidney transplant.
According to Nesbitt, his wife, Ginger, and he never formally decided who would donate the kidney.
"I thought back to my wife giving labor. Watching a woman give birth to two sons, I knew it was my turn to give my son life," said Nesbitt, who added that his sons weighed a healthy 8 and 10 pounds when they were born to his 115-pound wife.
Though he always knew he would be the donor, Nesbitt said the decision didn't come without fear.
"I was frightened. My fear was soon replaced by the hope that Myles was going to live," he said.
After the transplant, the reality of the situation began to set in. But this time it was a joyous reality, one the family hadn't experienced in a long time.
He said he knew his own kidney was working inside Myles when he touched him just days after the operation. Because Myles' kidneys were not functioning properly, his skin had been coarse. But now it was soft.
"Just being able to feel his skin, I knew," Nesbitt said.
Myles is now the model for the doctors at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, where the operation was performed, Nesbitt said.
He said he enjoys all the little things they get to do together, like watching movies, especially on transplant day.
Both he and Myles know it is their special day together.
"The comfort is that we can just sit there with each other and enjoy it," Nesbitt said.
Maybe more importantly, he is grateful that Myles gets to do all the "normal boy stuff" a 12-year-old does — including riding a skateboard and playing with his dog, Carson.
"Most parents would have done what I did," he said meekly. "It's just another step in guiding our kids along."
http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_6365451
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