Baby needs kidney transplant

Baby needs kidney transplant

By JEFF MEYERS
Staff Writer
Published October 08, 2007 10:45 pm

— PERU -- Brady O'Connell fidgeted, just like any 8-month-old infant who'd rather be off exploring the world than held snugly in his mother's arms.
He had recently learned to sit and roll over and was all set for that little degree of independence, unaware of the turmoil within his body that had nearly taken his life a few months earlier.
Brady had suffered a ruptured renal vein when he was a little more than a month old, which short-circuited his entire system and caused just about every organ in his body to shut down.
HEALTHY START
"He was born full term, a healthy 8-pound,-12Â¾-ounce baby," his mom, Nicole O'Connell, said of the baby's birth on Feb. 5, 2007.
"He was the happiest of the three (children)," added Ryon O'Connell, referring to the couple's other sons, Ryley, 6, and Zachary, 3. "We had no problems with him at all."
But in the blink of an eye, that all changed.
"He woke up showing signs of sickness," Nicole recalled of that seemingly normal March 14 morning. "He was vomiting and looked pale and lethargic. We immediately called the pediatrician."
Brady's condition worsened that morning, so his doctor had him admitted to CVPH Medical Center, where physicians began their search for the problem. At first, they thought it might be a feeding issue and tried putting him on a new formula.
But the situation took a dramatic turn for the worse when the infant went into cardiac arrest and stopped breathing.
"The doctor called for a code," Nicole said of that horrific moment when she imagined her son was being taken away from her.
The hospital was able to sustain the baby on life support for 12 hours while preparations were made to transfer him to Fletcher Allen Health Care in Vermont.
"You can't imagine going from being a normal healthy baby to two days later in critical condition in Fletcher Allen," Nicole said.
SURGERY TO DIALYSIS
Once there, surgery began, and doctors were able to pinpoint the problem that had caused every organ except the heart and brain to fail. His right renal vein, no larger than a strand of angel-hair pasta, had ruptured and led to severe internal bleeding.
"There was no known reason," Nicole said. "It was simply a spontaneous rupture."
Doctors corrected that problem and put Brady on blood-thinning medicine in an attempt to stabilize him. He began to recover and eventually regained the use of his organs, except for his kidneys. The initial problem had affected the right kidney, but the damage seemed to be too much for the left kidney to rebound from as well.
Since then, Brady has been on dialysis to replace his lost kidney function. At first, he was on the machine 24 hours but has recently been pushed back to 12-hour daily sessions.
"We put him on it at night when he goes to sleep, and he wakes up the next morning just about when it's done," Nicole explained.
TRANSPLANT
He is much smaller than other infants his age, but he remains happy and alert during his daily play.
The family is now looking at their options for the future, including a kidney transplant for Brady.
"When this first happened, we went from being scared to sad to angry," Nicole said. "We wanted to know why this had to happen to Brady.
"We don't know why it happened, but it happened. We have to move on now."
Nicole and Ryon have already traveled to Boston to meet with the transplant team that will perform the surgery. They are hoping to use a live donor and will return to Boston with a few family members and friends to determine who might be the best match.
Boston Children's Hospital performs an average of 16 kidneys per year, and prognosis for survival is excellent, with the patient expected to have the ability to participate in most normal childhood activities.
Nicole, a teacher at Mooers Elementary School, has had to take time off from work during the ordeal. Ryon continues at his teaching position at Peru Intermediate School while awaiting news of the transplant.
"Both Peru and Mooers communities have been wonderful throughout this," Ryon said. "We can't say enough about the support we've received."
A fundraiser will be held Sunday at Peru Community Church Fellowship Center to help raise money to meet the family's financial needs leading up to and during their trips to Boston.

jmeyers@pressrepublican.com

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