At 17 years old, Alrick was having migraines. One day at school he had a bloody nose and the nurse decided to take his blood pressure. That was when we found out it was dangerously high. Scary high.

We went to urgent care, thinking they would get him on blood pressure meds, but they sent us to the ER. There, we were told that Alrick was in kidney failure. The next 3 weeks were spent at the hospital where doctors were trying to figure out what was going on. The diagnosis came back as “most likely C3 Glomerulopathy”.

The doctors couldn’t be 100% certain and likened looking at his kidneys like looking at a war-ravaged town, you weren’t sure exactly what happened, but the damage was readily apparent. He was at 16% functionality.

When transplant was mentioned, Alrick’s sister, Moira, stated, “He’s not staying on that list any longer than he has to if there’s something I can do about it.” She was adamant that he is going to get one of her kidneys. 

Fast forward to March 2020. Alrick finished high school online in early March and quarantine started. This set back our transplant plans indefinitely. Also, during this time his labs were starting to show his kidneys were worsening. Time to start dialysis. Memorial Day weekend he was in the hospital having a hemodialysis catheter inserted into his chest.

During dialysis his blood pressure wasn’t getting any better, in fact, it was getting worse. He was admitted to the hospital a couple of times due to his pressure. At this point the doctors thought the best course of action would be to take out the kidneys.

July 4th weekend (what is it with holiday weekend and being hospitalized?) Alrick was once again admitted into the hospital to have his kidneys removed.

We are moving forward to transplant, and have it scheduled for August 18, 2020. 

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.