This science project has a very personal origin

This science project has a very personal origin
8-year-old's award-winner based on dad's condition

Thursday, April 03, 2008
BY DAVID JESSE
The Ann Arbor News

For most of his life, Kyle Chapman watched his dad struggle while awaiting a kidney transplant.

He saw his father, Jeremiah McEwen, go to dialysis for five years. That ended in late November, when McEwen got the news he had been waiting for - it was his turn for a transplant.

"I was packing a lunch to go to dialysis, and I got a phone call from the hospital telling me, 'Don't go to dialysis, come to the hospital,''' McEwen said.

So when Kyle needed to come up with a project for his science fair at Ann Arbor's Mitchell Elementary School, he had no problem picking a topic.

"I wanted to learn about the kidney,'' the 8-year-old second grader said. "I wanted to demonstrate how the kidney worked.''

After all, not only did his dad receive a kidney transplant, but his grandfather also has had one.

To show the kidney's workings, Chapman put some chalk in a bottle, filled it with water and poured it through a coffee filter into a second bottle.

"I was surprised at how much it cleaned out,'' Kyle said.

McEwen was impressed with the way his son explained how the kidney works.

"We've been working on simplifying things,'' he said. "(Kyle) did a wonderful job. I was just amazed.''

His teachers were also impressed and awarded Kyle first place, the second year in a row he's won the award.

And the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan took note, adding Kyle's exhibit to the lobby of its Ann Arbor headquarters.

The group plans to keep the display there as an education piece for a yet-to-be determined time.

The foundation says one in nine American adults have chronic kidney disease, and many adults don't even know it because there are few or no symptoms in the early stages.

Those with diabetes and high blood pressure are at higher risk for chronic kidney disease. Blacks are 6.5 times more likely to develop kidney failure from high blood pressure than whites, the foundation said.

David Jesse can be reached at djesse@annarbornews.com or at 734-994-6937. Join the discussion at blog.mlive.com/study_hall.

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