Goalie, 11, awaits kidney transplant

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Goalie, 11, awaits kidney transplant

March 5, 2008

 
By Jeff Stahlhut

Special to usahockey.com

For most young hockey players, pre-game warm-ups are nothing more than a few trips around the rink to get their legs loose, to work up a sweat and to get ready for the game. But for 11-year-old Marshall Taylor, those pre-game sprints up and down the ice leave him completely run down.

“For him, doing just two or three warm-up sprints and he’s pooped,” said Marshall’s father, the Rev. Phillip Taylor. “But he keeps trying – he keeps going.”

Marshall, a goalie for a Raleigh Youth Hockey Association (RYHA) team in Raleigh, N.C., isn’t lazy or out of shape, though. Marshall suffers from End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), a condition that was diagnosed in August of 2005, and will eventually require him to get a kidney transplant. And when the time comes, that kidney will come from Marshall’s aunt, Karen Tyner, who was willing and happy to offer her kidney to her nephew.

“My kidney doctor told me I was lucky to have a family member donate her kidney to me. The doctor said that family kidneys work best,” said Marshall. “Aunt Karen is special and I love her. She always remembers me at Christmas and on my birthday. She’s a NASCAR fan and my favorite NASCAR driver is Kyle Petty. I got autographs from Kyle and Richard Petty at Victory Junction Gang Camp that they run and Aunt Karen was jealous.”

But because doctors want Marshall’s kidneys to work on their own as long as possible, that transplant won’t be happening in the near-term.

“The waiting is a strain – she volunteered to donate 2 ½ years ago – but we try to understand the medical reasons behind the decision to wait. They want his kidney to work for as long as possible,” said Rev. Taylor.

“But Marshall’s attitude about this has really helped. He understands the situation, and he understands that he may need one or two more transplants in his life. Aunt Karen is, after all, 45 years old. That kidney will be 70 years old when Marshall is in his 30’s.”

In the mean time, Marshall continues to play the game he loves and has always loved – even if it is a little more difficult for him than it is for the other kids. He also loves to watch his favorite team, the Carolina Hurricanes.

“I love to watch hockey and play hockey. I went to my first NHL game when I was five years old,” said Marshall. “We took my grandpa to see the ‘Canes play. That year they went to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time. I told my parents that I wanted to learn to skate so I started skating that summer.”

When the day does finally come that Marshall gets that transplant, the plan is to get him back on the ice as soon as possible.

“We hope he can recover quickly,” said Rev. Taylor. “We know that the more quickly he can strap on the skates, the better. It will be a huge psychological boost for him.”

That’s when it might get tricky, though, because Marshall has aspirations beyond the goal-crease.

“The doctor told us that once he is back they want him to do nothing but play goalie,” said Rev. Taylor. “He does want to skate, though – he likes to skate.”

That’s a sentiment that Marshall echoed.

“If I weren’t playing goalie, I would play defense. The defense has to help the goalie. Since I play goalie, I know how important the defense is to winning,” he said. “My parents and the doctors want me to stick with playing goalie. They think it will be safer. But they’ve never stopped a hard slap shot. When I play goalie I am able to learn different moves and I don’t get hit as hard. My dad takes me to ‘stick and puck’ sessions sometimes so I can be a skater for a few minutes.”

But whatever position he plays won’t really matter in the end. What’s most important is that he’s able to be on the ice at all.

“My mom and dad have given me the chance to play a sport that is fun and exciting,” he said. “They get up early to take me to the rink. They take me to see the ‘Canes play and we got to get our picture taken with the Stanley Cup after the ‘Canes won it. Dad signs me up for summer hockey camps every year. Last summer at goalie camp, Rod Brind’amour and Cam Ward came one day and shot at all of the goalies. I stopped a couple.”

Those types of things are just as special to his parents as they are to Marshall.

“Watching him play is just magical for us,” said Rev. Taylor. “It gives us hope that everything is going to be OK.”

For Marshall, being able to play is magical in it’s own right.

“I love hockey and I want other kids like me to be able to play. I am lucky to have found hockey,” he said. “I hope other kids with health problems can find a sport to play. It does not have to be hockey. But hockey is the sport I love. It has helped me gain confidence that I did not have before. Hockey has helped me make new friends outside of school.”

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