In September 2024, after being hospitalized for a muscle issue post-workout, doctors discovered that Ethan had a kidney issue. A month later, he was diagnosed with Dent’s Disease Type 1—a rare, progressive kidney condition. At just 15, Ethan was already in Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease with 37% kidney function.

By March 2025, Ethan had progressed to Stage 4, with only 26% function. We were given the news that a transplant will be needed soon—possibly within the next 12 months. We’ve met with the transplant team at MUSC in Charleston, and now we wait, pray, and prepare.

First of all, we ask for prayers. God is a big God. He does BIG things. I have personally seen God all over this entire situation. Three days before the original workout, Ethan and I were at the YMCA walking and I just felt the need to pray for his health specifically at that moment as I was walking. By the end of that week, he was in the hospital for a condition called rhabdomyolysis which can be extremely painful. During his whole hospital stay, he was in no pain. While he had to endure a 5-day hospital stay with 13 bags of IV fluids to help flush the kidneys of the muscle enzymes, he was in no pain. The doctors were intrigued. I knew it was God covering Ethan from even before the issue took place in his body. We have had an amazing team of Nephrologists at our local hospital whom I have told on multiple occasions, I know we aren’t your only patients, but you make me feel like we are. They have been amazing. 

Pray for Ethan. Pray for strength in his body and mind to handle all this news at such a fast pace. Pray for peace from anxiety. Pray for the courage and confidence that God has placed inside of Ethan a long time ago before we ever knew he would need to walk this journey. 

Pray for his sister. She’s a part of this, too. I overhear them talking to one another at home checking on each other, and she knows God can do miracles but still quietly worries about her big brother. 

Pray for me. Whew… it’s been a lot, and I wish I could take it from Ethan and make it mine every day. But I have seen God show up BIG for my little family in the last 15 years and He’s not stopping anytime soon. Pray for mental strength as I hear all the information, process it and make decisions. Pray for physical strength as I continue to work to support my family, raise two teens, and now add many doctors’ appointments to the mix.

With a transplant being in Ethan’s future, Ethan and myself will be traveling to Charleston for his transplant appointments/surgery and will incur a lot of expenses not covered under insurance (like travel and hotel stays). I will also be out of work for approximately two months during Ethan’s recovery from transplant surgery.  We also recognize that Ethan, as he starts his life as an adult in just a few years, will need to balance working with covering the many lifetime costs for doctor’s visits, labs, scans, medications, procedures etc., in order to keep his future transplanted kidney healthy without complications of rejection. We are also aware that due to Ethan’s young age and medical diagnosis, more than one transplant may be needed in his future. 

This is why we have partnered with COTA to raise money in honor of Ethan to assist with a lifetime of transplant related expense. COTA funds will help both for our immediate needs with this transplant, as well as for the lifelong needs he will have as a kidney transplant recipient. 

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.